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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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^GEl^-  CAli^°«**^ 


Useful  Reference  Series  No.  20 


Guide  to  the  Use 

of  United  States  Government 

Publications 


Guide  to  the  Use 
of 

United  States 
Government  Publications 


BY 

Edith  E.  Clarke 

Chief  of  Cataloging,  Office  of  Superintendent  of  Documents, 

1896-1898;  Compiler  of  the  Monthly  Catalogs,  of  the 

Document  Catalog,  Volumes  1-2,  and  of  the 

Document  Index,  Volume  I 


THE  BOSTON  BOOK  CO. 
BOSTON 

1918 


Copyright  by 

The  Boston  Book  Company 

1918 

Published  May,  1918 


VAIL-BALLOU     COMPANY 


122  3 


Foreword 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  express  here  my  indebtedness 
for  help  received  from  my  friends  of  the  Documents  Of- 
fice: Mr.  A.  P.  Tisdel,  assistant  superintendent  of  docu- 
ments; Miss  H.  C.  Silliman,  chief  of  cataloging;  and 
Miss  M.  A.  Hartwell,  who  compiled  the  Checklist;  and 
from  Mr,  George  H.  Carter,  clerk  of  the  Joint  Committee 
on  Printing.  Also  from  the  efficient  staff  and  adminis- 
tration of  Cornell  University  library;  without  the  aid  of 
its  intelligent  cataloging  and  management  especially  of 
this  troublesome  class  of  publications  this  book  could  not 
have  been  written. 

E.  E.  c. 

Auburn,  N.  Y. 


5^^Ho 


Introduction 

The  original  framework  of  this  "Guide"  was  a  course 
of  instruction  on  the  subject  successfully  worked  out  in  a 
library  training  school  with  a  two-years'  schedule.  This 
framework  shows  itself  in  certain  didactically  set  forth 
instructions  like  the  eight  designations,^  and  the  data  to 
be  gathered  from  the  Congressional  Record  concerning 
the  passage  of  a  bill.-  But  upon  and  about  this  has  been 
hung  a  wide  discussion  of  the  methods  of  publication  and 
distribution  of  the  national  publications.  That  this  dis- 
cussion is  timely  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  a  bill,  framed 
after  exhaustive  study  of  the  subject  by  the  Printing  In- 
vestigation Commission  of  1905-11,  and  first  introduced 
by  it  in  the  60th  Congress,  and  reported  on  in  February, 
1909,  has  been  pending  before  every  successive  Congress 
since,  and  it  has  been  hoped,  during  each  succeeding  Con- 
gress, that  it  might  become  law.  This,  when  it  becomes  a 
statute,  will  supersede  the  law  under  which  we  have  been 
working  for  twenty  years,  and  will  gather  up  and  codify 
all  the  reforms  and  amendments  made  during  that  period, 
with  some  much  needed  new  ones.  In  some  details  this 
bill  may  be  altered  before  it  becomes  law,  but  it  is  be- 
lieved that,  having  been  so  long  incubating,  its  main  fea- 
tures will  be  enacted  in  the  form  described  in  this  work, 
as  they  bring  measures  of  reform  up  to  the  point  that 
it  is  possible  to  carry  them  in  the  present  stage  of  senti- 
ment on  the  subject. 

But  the  work  is  not  intended  only  as  a  manual  for  in- 
struction in  library  training  schools ;  nor  for  depository 
libraries  only.  It  has  the  needs  of  depositories,  chiefly 
of  those  which  are  public  libraries,  largely  in  view,  of 

1  See  p.   124. 

2  See  p.   130. 


8  Introduction 

those  which  are  college  libraries  somewhat.  But  the 
needs  of  the  state  libraries  and  the  largest  libraries  which 
maintain  document  departments  it  regards  not  a  whit.  It 
will  be  seen  that  in  different  sections  the  work  addresses 
itself  to  very  different  classes  of  readers:  —  now  to  the 
immature  student  of  library  science ;  now  to  the  untrained 
librarian  of  the  very  small  library ;  again  to  the  chief  of 
a  depository  public  library ;  and  at  another  time  to  any 
one  interested  and  influential  in  directing  the  policies  of 
the  Government  regarding  the  public  printing.  Also, 
the  writer  would  be  very  glad  could  she  enrol  among 
those  whom  the  book  can  help  the  growing  number  of 
students  and  teachers  who  use  the  national  publications. 
But  the  technicalities  which  fit  it  for  the  readers  whom  it 
is  first  of  all  hoped  to  help,  the  workers  who  care  for  the 
documents  in  the  libraries,  may  repel  the  workers  who 
only  study  the  documents. 

This  variety  of  appeal  creates  a  lack  of  homogeneity 
which  wall  not  be  regretted  if  each  of  these  classes  of 
readers  finds  help.  While  there  is  some  repetition  in  the 
book,  this  has  been  thought  excusable  in  a  work  that  will 
be  taken  up  for  reference  in  sections,  as  the  user  seeks 
help  on  some  special  topic,  and  which  will  probably  not 
find  many  who  will  read  it  through  at  a  single  sitting. 
The  excess  of  detail  in  certain  sections  can  be  skipped  by 
those  to  w^hom  it  is  unwelcome. 

It  is  a  popular  notion  that  government  publications  are 
a  class  apart  from  every  other  kind  of  literature,  to  be 
placed  all  together  in  a  group  by  themselves  in  a  library ; 
that  special  codes  of  cataloging  rules,  and  separate  classi- 
fication systems,  and  dift'erent  library  practice  generally 
must  be  devised  for  them ;  and  that  they  can  be  under- 
stood only  by  specialists.  In  the  making  of  this  little 
work  this  notion  is  regarded  as  an  error  that  is  to  be 
counteracted  by  the  spread  of  clear,  accurate,  and  full  in- 
formation concerning  them.  The  keynote  according  to 
which  it  is  written  is  that  government  publications  should 
be  given  the  same  footing  and  treatment  as  any  other 


Introduction  9 

works;  and  that  their  pubHshing  should  be  conducted 
on  the  same  principles  and  methods  as  publishing  busi- 
ness in  private  hands.  It  has  been  the  aim  to  state  the 
facts  concerning  them,  to  explain  things  misunderstood, 
to  persuade  convictions  founded  on  lack  of  full  knowl- 
edge to  a  change  of  view,  and  to  provide  a  laboratory 
manual  for  all  who  use  United  States  government  pub- 
lications inside  libraries  and  out. 

The  terms,  United  States  public  documents,  and  United 
States  government  publications,  are  used  interchangeably 
throughout  the  work  to  vary  the  monotony.  But  gov- 
ernment publications  is  the  preferred  term  for  several 
reasons.  One  is  that,  among  archivists,  the  term,  docu- 
ments, has  the  meaning  of  "  pen-created  ''  papers,  not  of 
printed  literature.^  Another  is  that  in  its  non-special, 
general  sense  the  word  document  is  usually  applied  to 
material  in  literary  form  teaching  (docens)  the  facts;  it 
means  source  material,  usually  in  history,  economics, 
politics,  law,  and  the  like.  But  the  scientific,  technologi- 
cal, and  descriptive  material  which  makes  such  a  large 
share  of  the  national  publications,  the  regulations,  service 
manuals  and  handbooks,  the  current  information  in  Com- 
merce Reports  and  their  like,  the  bibliographies  and  in- 
dexes, etc.,  are  anything  but  documents  in  that  sense. 

Still  another  reason  is  that  Documents  is  the  title  of 
one  of  the  two  series  which  the  Senate  and  House  each 
publish.  This  use  of  the  same  word  to  denote  all  of  the 
publications  of  the  United  States  government,  and  two 
particular  series  of  them,  creates  confusion  in  discussion, 
whereas  exactly  defined  terms  are  greatly  needed.  To 
ensure  distinctiveness  here,  whenever  the  Senate  or 
House  series  is  meant,  the  word  Documents  is  given  an 
initial  capital,  as  is  done  with  the  Reports  and  Journals 
also. 

3  "  Here  in  America  we  have  become  accustomed  to  considering  as  '  docu- 
ments '  the  official  printed  publications  of  state  and  federal  authority,  which 
results  in  a  confusion  of  terms  that  some  day  may  prove  vexatious."  J.  C. 
Fitzpatrick.  Notes  on  the  care  ...  of  manuscripts.  Wash.  1913.  45  p. 
19  cm.     (Library  of  Congress.) 


10  Introduction 

But  putting  all  this  aside,  the  term  government  publi- 
cations is  better  from  the  viewpoint  of  this  work  because 
it  aligns  works  issued  by  the  government  with  works  of 
any  other  source  or  kind.  We  speak  of  society  publica- 
tions, church  publications,  of  art,  legal,  educational,  medi- 
cal publications,  not  documents,  and  government  publi- 
cations range  with  these. 

The  annual  reports  and  other  serials  are  now  supplied 
to  depository  libraries  —  though  unfortunately  not  to  the 
libraries  that  get  their  copies  from  members  of  Congress 
—  in  plain  title  edition ;  and  the  A.  L.  A.  Council  has  ruled 
to  class  them  by  subject,  not  as  part  of  the  Congressional 
set.  The  Document  Catalogue  and  the  printed  catalogue 
cards  of  the  Library  of  Congress  provide  the  inexpert 
with  entries  in  which  the  cataloging  rules  are  applied  by 
experts  to  these  troublesome  works.  It  seemed  to  the 
writer  that  a  simple  admonition  to  follow  these  guides, 
and  in  all  other  questions  of  methods  to  apply  to  the 
various  kinds  of  government  material  the  same  treat- 
ment given  to  like  material  non-governmental  in  origin, 
should  suffice.  However,  on  request,  the  section  on 
"  Library  Practice  "  has  been  added. 

Though  this  "  Guide  "  hopes  to  help  and  instruct,  after 
all  there  is  but  one  way  to  acquire  a  practical  and  thor- 
ough understanding  of  the  nation's  publications.  That  is 
to  handle  and  use  and  work  with  them,  to  acquaint  one- 
self with  them  individually  and  en  masse,  to  know  their 
bibliographical  conditions  and  their  subject  contents. 

As  the  governmental  organization  is  constantly  under- 
going minor  changes,  nothing  written  about  it  and  its 
publications  can  be  exactly  true  in  every  detail  even  on 
the  day  of  its  publication.  Every  such  work  goes  rapidly 
out  of  date.  But  it  is  thought  that  the  bill  here  ex- 
pounded is  a  crystallization  of  reforms  so  extensive  that 
when  passed,  it  will  stand  without  much  modification  for 
another  decade  or  score  of  years. 

As  has  been  said  in  the  text,  all  criticisms  and  sugges- 
tions of  betterments  in  the  public  printing,  including  some 


Introduction  ii 

beyond  what  the  pending  bill  provides,  are  drawn  from 
the  published  reports  and  hearings  on  the  subject,  hav- 
ing been  made  by  authorized  investigating  bodies,  or  by 
individuals  summoned  before  them  to  give  testimony  and 
expert  advice. 

A  good  deal  in  the  right  direction  as  to  edition  (num- 
ber of  copies)  regulation  has  been  put  in  practice,  espe- 
cially lately  since  the  Printing  Investigation  Commission 
closed  its  work,  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing 
through  its  efficient  clerk,  Mr.  G.  H.  Carter.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  present  tendency  seems  to  be  to  encour- 
age and  enlarge  Congressional  free  distribution,  a  retro- 
gression from  the  stand  of  the  commission  and  of  lead- 
ers in  Congress  and  experts  of  a  decade  back.  If  the 
writer  reads  the  records  right,  the  stand  of  these  men 
was  that  of  this  little  book,  against  Congressional  free 
distribution.  Also,  a  steady  increase  in  supervision  and 
control  over  the  Government  Printing  Office  and  over  the 
publications  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  is 
evident. 

It  may  well  be,  as  the  Government  Printing  Office 
speeds  up  with  more  highly  technical  workers  and  ma- 
chinery, and  the  publications  diversify  and  increase,  that 
the  supervision  and  administration  of  it  all  must  become 
closer  and  more  exact  than  in  the  past.  But  the  perma- 
nence indispensable  for  efficiency  can  never  be  found 
in  a  committee  of  Congress.  Although  all  may  go  well 
while,  for  a  time,  one  set  of  men  remains  in  Washington, 
yet  uncertainty  and  retrogression  wait  upon  supervision 
by  a  politically  shifting  body  and  its  officials.  To  work 
for  laws  that  will  secure  a  permanent  non-political  ad- 
ministration of  the  public  printing,  equally  efficient  and 
practical  with  the  best  private  publishing,  is  one  mission 
of  this  little  book  which,  surely,  every  patriotic  reader 
will  wish  to  second. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword 5 

Introduction 7 

I.    GENERAL 

Scope  and  Value ^7 

Definition  and  Identification       . 20 

Authority  for  Printing 22 

Government  Printing  Office 24 

Before  1895  •    Abuses  and  Reform 30 

Documents  Office 34 

Catalogs  and  Bibliographies 38 

Depository  Libraries 43 

Edition  and  Demand  :    "  Usual  Number  :  "  "  Up  Number  :  " 

"  Reserve  " 48 

Distribution 52 

Why  Bewildering  :     Bad  Publishing  Methods 63 

Since  1895 :    The  Future 97 

Government  Organization  and  Terminology 108 

Things  to  Be  Noticed 115 

II.  LEGISLATIVE  PUBLICATIONS 

General 119 

The  Serially  Numbered  Set 122 

Journals 125 

Congressional  Record 126 

Bills  and  Resolutions:    Laws 133 

Reports  of  Committees 140 

Documents I44 

III.  EXECUTIVE  PUBLICATIONS 

General I49 

Publishing  Bodies  of  the  United  States  Government 
Classed  by  Their  Specialties  According  to  the  Deci- 
mal Classification 154 


14  Contents 

IV.    LIBRARY  PRACTICE  p^^g 

Information  and  Selection igi 

General  Practice 196 

Check  Record  of  Serials 199 

Cataloging  (Excluding  Subject  Cataloging)  : 

1.  House  and   Senate   Four   Series 204 

2.  Corporate  and  Other  Non-subject  Entries     ....  210 

3.  Serials 216 

4.  Printed  Catalog  Cards :     Periodical  Indexes     .      .      .  224 

5.  Library   of   Congress  and   Document   Catalog   Diver- 

gences     225 

Pamphlets 230 

Maps 232 

Classification 235 

V.    BIBLIOGRAPHY 

General  Bibliography  : 

Popular  Articles  1 

Archives  J- 243 

Aids  as  to  Publishing  Bodies  J 

Aids  as  to  the  Publications 244 

Government  Printing  Office"! 

Depository    Libraries  >- 245 

Public  Printing  to  1905  J 

Lists 247 

Catalogs  and  Indexes 248 

Government  Bodies  Described  by  Themselves  .  .  .  250 
Government  Bodies'  Lists  of  Their  Own  Publications  .  251 
Government  Bodies'  Indexes  to  Their  Own  Publications  255 

Bibliography  of  the  Printing  Investigation  Commission, 

1905-1913,  and  Official  Publications  Since    .     .     .  259 

Bibliography  of  Laws 272 

Depositories 276 

The  Librarians  on  the  National  Publications  :     Articles 
In: 

Library  Journal 279 

American  Library  Association  Proceedings  ....  285 
Public  Libraries 286 

Index        289 


PART  I 

General 


Scope  and  Value 

The  publications  of  a  government  are  the  records  of 
that  nation's  existence ;  they  are  the  source  material  of 
its  history.  Xo  nation  has  ever  advanced  far  in  perma- 
nency and  civilization  but  it  has  striven  to  leave  a  memo- 
rial of  itself  in  arch  or  monument,  in  wall  inscriptions,  in 
clay  tablets,  or  in  some  other  medium  for  handing  its 
records  down  to  posterity.  While  the  world  was  in  the 
primitive  stage,  that  is,  while  each  people  or  each  tribe 
was  necessarily  at  war  with  every  other,  and,  as  it  in- 
creased in  numbers  or  power,  moved  on  to  larger  terri- 
tory by  the  conquest  of  its  weaker  neighbors ;  while  gov- 
ernment was  the  might  of  the  strongest  to  rule  and  his 
will  was  law ;  so  long  history  was  but  the  annals  of 
bloody  strife  for  power  and  of  the  exploits  of  this  or  that 
leader  or  dynasty.  Later,  as  nations  have  settled  down 
within  fixed  territorial  limits,  and  their  ways  of  govern- 
ing themselves  have  crystallized  into  political  systems  and 
legal  forms,  civilization,  taking  root  in  these  more  stable 
conditions,  has  blossomed  forth  and  borne  fruit  in  many- 
sided  activities.  To  each  individual  has  been  given  a 
chance  to  bring  his  contribution,  according  to  his  gifts 
and  capacity,  to  the  material  and  spiritual  life  of  his  gen- 
eration. Arts,  science,  literature,  commerce,  industry, 
invention,  discovery,  have  made  way  for  themselves  and 
flourish.  History  has  become  the  record  of  progress  and 
achievement  in  these  things,  rather  than  of  exploits  of 
arms,  of  wars  and  revolutions. 

Gradually,  as  reason  has  supplanted  force  as  the  basis 
of  government,  and  the  will  of  the  majority  as  ex- 
pressed by  party  contest  and  the  ballot  box  instead  of 
by  strife  of  arms  has  come  to  rule,  each  citizen  sharing  in 

17 


i8  Scope  and  Value 

the  government  and  having  his  say  as  to  its  management, 
more  and  more  there  have  been  entrusted  to  the  govern- 
ment, as  a  sort  of  cooperative  agency,  such  matters  as 
are  of  general  pubhc  interest  and  can  best  be  done  by 
one  for  all.  Education,  sanitation,  intercommunication, 
the  opening  up  of  the  country's  resources,  fostering  its 
industries,  encouraging  the  development  of  all  the 
thought  and  effort  and  production  that  promise  benefit, 
policing  and  protection  within  and  without,  together  with 
the  financing  and  administering  these  vast  concerns,  and 
the  care  of  state  properties  —  all  these  are  now  being  car- 
ried on  by  the  state  for  the  individual.  The  functions  of 
government  are  growing  every  day  more  numerous, 
more  diversified,  and  are  more  intimately  directing  the 
citizen's  daily  life.  As  this  goes  on,  the  nation's  publica- 
tions become  more  and  more  the  original  records  of  the 
national  life. 

Government  publications  serve  —  the  majority  of  them 
—  as  administrative  records  by  means  of  which  the  thou- 
sands of  government  officials  are  kept  informed  and  in 
touch  and  at  work  in  cooperation;  the  projects  of  to- 
day are  thus  correlated  with  the  work  of  tomorrow. 
They  enable  every  citizen  to  know,  and  well  informed 
to  use  his  knowledge  to  share  intelligently  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  public  business.  They  tell  what  has  been 
done  and  what  is  required  or  planned  to  be  done ;  what 
undertakings  are  on  foot ;  what  measures  are  being 
taken.  They  record  the  laws  that  have  been  made,  and 
tell  of  their  interpretation  and  enforcement.  In  so  far 
as  government  is  made  the  agency  for  carrying  on  the 
affairs  of  the  people,  in  so  far  the  publications  of  the 
government  are  the  first  hand  source  material  about  their 
affairs.  Not  only  for  use  by  officials  but  for  use  by  the 
people,  these  publications  must  be  full,  open,  free,  and 
accessible. 

But  besides  this  large  class  of  administrative  publica- 
tions which  are  the  information  sources  and  records  of 
government  business,  there  is  also  another  large  class  of 


Scope  and  Value  19 

which  the  aim  is  popular  instruction  and  help.  The  gov- 
ernment collects  facts,  institutes  scientific  researches,  in- 
vestigates, explores,  does  pioneer  work,  blazes  out  a  path ; 
or  merely  demonstrates  and  popularizes  knowledge. 
This  class  of  publications  makes  known  the  results, 
spreads  the  information  among  the  people,  and  fosters 
intelligent  industry  among  them. 

As  to  the  subjects  with  which  works  published  by  the 
United  States  concern  themselves,  it  will  be  seen,  as  one 
becomes  familiar  with  them,  that  they  furnish  no  mate- 
rial on  belles  lettres,  philosophy,  or  religion  —  except  in 
statistics  of  religious  organizations ;  only  an  infinitesimal 
amount  on  the  fine  arts ;  on  linguistics  a  little  more ;  that 
they  contain  a  good  deal  on  science,  and  on  history,  geog- 
raphy, and  anthropology;  that  they  are  richest  in  the 
fields  of  industry  and  technology,  and  of  political  and 
social  science,  including  education,  commerce,  finance, 
statistics,  law,  practical  government;  on  philanthropy, 
crime,  punishment,  and  reform;  and  like  subjects.  All 
this  is  of  course  with  reference  to  needs,  conditions,  and 
facts  in  the  United  States,  but  includes  much  of  universal 
interest,  and  much  which  goes  beyond  our  national 
boundaries. 


II 

Definition  and  Identification 

A  United  States  government  publication  is  one  that  is 
"  printed  at  government  expense  or  published  or  dis- 
tributed by  authority  of  Congress."  ^  There  are  a  few 
cases  of  works  prepared  by  either  a  government  body  or 
official,  or  by  a  private  body  or  individual,  and  printed 
outside  of  the  Government  Printing  Office,  but  in  whose 
publication  the  United  States  is  an  interested  party, 
either  buying  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  edition,  or  other- 
wise sharing  in  the  expense ;  and  these  have  equal  right 
to  be  called  government  publications.  Instances  are  the 
United  States  Postal  Guide,  and  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  Reports. 

The  author,  if  a  person,  is  usually,  but  not  necessarily, 
some  one  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States.  But  it  is 
frequently  the  case  that  a  document  is  made  up  in  an 
office  and  includes  contributions  from  many  sources  and 
by  many  hands,  neither  identified  nor  kept  distinct,  on 
much  the  same  plan  as  a  newspaper  is. 

In  1861  the  Government  Printing  Office  began  op- 
erations. Since  that  date  all  the  United  States  publica- 
tions, except  those  described  above  and  a  few  sporadic 
cases,  bear  the  imprint  of  that  office,  and  this  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing mark  to  be  looked  for  first  of  all  when  in 
doubt  whether  a  work  later  than  i860  is  a  United  States 
publication  or  not.  Of  late  years  especially,  government 
publications  are  dropping  the  painfully  plain  uniformity 
which  used  to  brand  them  as  such  as  far  as  they  could  be 
seen,  and  many  now  are  as  attractive  in  make-up  as  the 
issues   of   any   private   publisher,   for   example,   the   so- 

1  See  for  fuller  definition,  Checklist,  p.  vii;  also  Monthly  Catalog,  Feb., 
1908,  p.  325-328.     The  quoted  definition  is  from  the  new  printing  bill. 

20 


Definition  and  Identification  21 

called  "  Jefferson's  Bible,"  ^  and  the  publications  of  the 
Library  of  Congress  among  others.  In  these  cases  the 
Government  Printing  Office  imprint  is  a  helpful  and  en- 
tirely dependable  resource  for  purposes  of  identification. 
This  test  will  satisfy  almost  every  case  that  is  likely  to 
reach  the  ordinary  reader.  But  the  absence  of  this  im- 
print even  since  1861  is  not  conclusive  proof  that  the 
work  is  not  a  United  States  publication.  The  intent  of 
the  law  is  to  require  all  federal  printing  to  be  done  at  the 
Government  Printing  Office,  but  outside  printing  has  oc- 
curred. 

Prior  to  1861  the  government  printing  was  let  out  on 
contract,  and  works  published  then  do  not  have  this  im- 
print. These  early  outputs  of  the  government  present 
great  difficulties  because  of  their  various  and  haphazard 
titles,  binding,  and  publishing  methods.  Often,  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  having  different  printers,  and  there  be- 
ing no  scrutiny,  as  now  required  by  law,  of  the  orders 
to  print  passed  independently  by  each  house,  identical 
material  was  printed  in  duplicate  as  a  Senate  Document 
and  as  a  House  Document.  The  government  publishing 
methods  were  at  that  time  at  their  worst,  and  have  been 
in  process  of  reform  by  degrees  ever  since.  For  these, 
and  for  any  more  recent  works  in  which  neither  title  nor 
any  other  part  of  the  work  give  any  indication  of  their 
being  government  publications,  recourse  will  have  to  be 
made  to  the  catalogs  and  bibliographies  of  United 
States  publications,  especially  to  the  great  storehouse  of 
information  for  the  period  covered,  the  Checklist  of 
United  States  Public  Documents,  1789-1909.  3d  edition, 
published  191 1.  This  is  a  bibliography  which,  for  exact- 
ness and  accuracy,  admirable  system,  and  completeness, 
is  a  model  of  its  kind,  a  monument  to  the  experts  of  the 
Documents  Office  where  it  was  compiled,  and  with  which 
no  other  nation  in  the  world,  so  far  as  the  writer's  infor- 
mation goes,  can  show  for  its  government  publications 
anything  to  compare  in  excellence  and  value. 

;;  See  Checklist,  p.  877. 


Ill 

Authority  for  Printing 

Nothing  is  printed  by  the  government  except  by  au- 
thority of  law;  which  means,  of  course,  that  the  re- 
sponsibiHty  for  and  organization  of  the  pubHc  printing 
Hes  with  Congress,  This  authority  is  of  three  kinds :  ( i ) 
a  special  order  to  print;  ^  (2)  a  general  provision  of  law 
according  to  which,  year  after  year,  a  department,  for  in- 
stance, issues  certain  authorized  publications,  its  report 
and  other  works;  and  (3)  a  blanket  permit,  under  wliich 
an  official  or  a  government  body  may  print  or  reprint  ac- 
cording to  discretion  within  certain  limits.  In  this  latter 
form,  it  may  be  especially  mentioned,  authority  is  given 
for  reprinting  publications  of  which  the  editions  are  ex- 
hausted to  the  superintendent  of  documents,  the  Joint 
Committee  on  Printing,  and  to  the  secretary  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  the  clerk  of  the  House.  The  authority  of  the  last 
two  extends  only  to  bills  and  resolutions,  laws,  and  Re- 
ports of  committees. 

]\Iembers  of  Congress  may  have  extra  copies  or  re- 
prints of  matter  from  the  Congressional  Record  or  other 
government  publications,  speeches  and  the  like,  struck  off 
for  their  personal  use  and  distribution,  at  their  own  ex- 
pense. As  the  cost  of  reprinting  is  slight,  and  under 
their  franks  *  members  may  send  any  number  of  copies 

3  "  So-ca]led  orders  to  print  public  documents  are  generally  simple,  con- 
current, or  joint  resolutions,  but  may  be  bills." —  Document  Catalog  under 
"  Printing  Committee." 

4  See  H.  Report  316,  62d  Congress,  2d  session  (1911-12),  p.  24,  where 
the  statement  is  made  that  Congress  is  using  about  25,000,000  franked 
envelops  a  year,  at  a  cost  of  about  $60,000.  A  cheaper  grade  envelop,  of 
manila,  is  provided  by  the  new  printing  bill.  See  also  Cong.  Record,  64th 
Congress,  1st  session,  H.  of  R.;  Apr.  20,  1916;  v.  53:6506,  where  Mr. 
Barnhart  says  (speech  on  H.  8664),  "  During  1914  22,000,000  manila  docu- 
ment envelops  of  various  sizes  were  furnished  to  representatives  and  sen- 
ators, an  average  of  41,500  each."  See  also  same,  page  6512:  2,000,000 
copies  of  a  speech  by  a  member  for  a  special  cause  sent  out  in  franked, 
envelops. 

22 


Authority  for  Printing  23 

free  by  mail,  advantage  is  taken  of  this  privilege  to  se- 
cure the  printing  of  speeches  and  other  matter  in  the 
Congressional  Record  or  elsewhere  in  the  government 
publications,  which  they  afterwards  distribute  among 
their  constituents  or  as  campaign  literature  throughout 
the  country. 

The  main  body  of  law  regulating  the  government  print- 
ing and  binding  and  distribution  of  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications  is  the  statute  of  January  12,  1895, 
by  which  the  Documents  Office  was  created.  This  law 
has  been  much  amended,  either  by  separate  enactment 
or  by  provisions  in  appropriation  and  other  bills,  so  that 
the  law  is  now  so  scattered  as  to  be  difficult  to  trace.  A 
bill  intended  to  gather  up  and  unite  in  one  statute,  to  take 
the  place  of  that  of  1895,  the  whole  body  of  law  on  the 
subject,  has  been  prepared  by  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Printing.^  It  has  passed  both  Senate  and  House  in  dif- 
ferent Congresses,  and  has  every  prospect  of  becoming 
law  sooner  or  later.  Although  the  final  form  in  which 
a  bill  will  ultimately  pass  into  law  can  never  be  predicted, 
yet  the  main  provisions  may  reasonably  be  expected  to 
go  through  without  change.  These  will  be  mentioned  as 
there  are  taken  up  the  various  topics  to  which  they  re- 
late. 

The  law  forbids  any  government  publication  from  be- 
ing copyrighted. 

5  See  beyond,  list  of  printing  bills  introduced,  Bibliography:  Printing 
Investigation  Commission,  p.  259. 


IV 

Government  Printing  Office 

The  Government  Printing  Office  is  the  largest  pubHsh- 
ing  estabHshment  in  the  world,  and  employs  above  4,000 
men  and  women.*'  The  present  building,  built  for  its  use 
and  occupied  since  1902,  covers  fourteen  acres.  The  ma- 
chinery in  use  there  has  cost  upward  of  $2,420,358.90. 
The  cost  of  buildings  and  equipment  is  estimated  as  not 
less  than  $5,500,000.  Its  annual  expenditure  is  approxi- 
mately $7,000,000.  Especially  during  its  busy  season, 
while  Congress  is  in  session,  the  plant  runs  night  and 
day.  Its  output  of  bound  books  alone  in  the  fiscal  year 
1915/16  w^as  1,621,037. 

The  first  and  foremost  demands  upon  this  office  for 
printed  matter  are  made,  of  course,  by  Congress  and 
the  administrative  offices  in  Washington.  These  are 
served  with  a  speed  combined  with  excellence  little  short 
of  phenomenal.  In  the  tremendous  rush  and  pressure 
for  immediate  book  production  of  an  incalculably  vari- 
able amount,  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  delay  that  the 
libraries  occasionally  sutler  in  receiving  their  supply  is 
not  without  a  reason,  and  is  sometimes  unavoidable,  how- 
ever regrettable  and  inconvenient. 

The  head  of  the  Government  Printing  Office  has  the 
title  of  public  printer.  He  is  appointed  by  the  President, 
subject  to  ratification  by  the  Senate.  His  report  is  made 
to  Congress. 

In  the  administration  of  the  office  under  Congress  the 
Joint  Committee  on  Printing  ^  acts  as  an  advisory  board 
to  that  body.     This  committee  is  made  up  of  three  sen- 

6  See  J.  D.  Whelpley,  The  nation's  print  shop  and  its  methods.  Rev.  of 
Rev.,  28:  556-563,  1903.  Also  W.  S.  Rossiter,  The  problem  of  the  Federal 
printing.     Atlantic,  96:  331-344,   1905. 

7  See,  for  list  of  functions  of  this  committee,  under  eighteen  heads,  Cong. 
Record,   63d   Cong.,    ist  sess.,   H.    of    R. ;   June   26,    1913;   v.    50:2213-2214. 

24 


Government  Printing  Office  25 

ators  and  three  representatives.  The  House  members 
are  the  printing  committee  of  the  House.  The  Senate 
members  are  chosen  from  the  eight  members  of  the 
printing  committee  of  the  Senate  by  the  committee 
itself.  Appointment  of  the  membership  of  the  printing 
committees  of  the  two  houses  is  made  by  the  respective 
houses.  This  joint  committee,  with  its  control  over  the 
public  printing,  exists  according  to  statute  law  dating 
back  as  far  as  August  3,  1846,  and  it  is  not,  like  other 
Congressional  committees,  dependent  on  the  will  of  either 
house.  It  has  for  years  supervised  the  office's  immense 
contracts  for  paper.**  Its  supervisory  duties  have  been 
extended  since  1905,  when  the  Printing  Investigation 
Commission  began  its  work.  In  the  new  printing  bill  it 
is  provided  that  the  committee  shall  hold  office  continu- 
ously, including  the  periods  when  Congress  is  not  in  ses- 
sion. Under  the  present  law,  the  secretary  of  the  In- 
terior is  deputed  to  fill  the  place  of  the  committee  when 
Congress  is  not  sitting  as  to  purchases  of  paper,  machin- 
ery, etc.,  by  the  Printing  Office. 

The  recommendation  has  been  made  more  than  once 
that  the  Government  Printing  Office  be  placed  under  the 
control  of  one  of  the  ten  executive  departments.  The  lat- 
est recommendation  to  this  effect  was  made  in  its  report 
on  the  public  printing  of  January  2,  1906,  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Department  Methods,  known  as  the  Keep  Com- 
mission, appointed  by  President  Roosevelt  to  examine 
the  total  organization  of  the  national  administration,  and 

Also  U.  S.  Printing  Joint  Committee,  Congressional  printing  handbook,  19 13. 
By  the  law  of  Mar.  2,  1895,  when  there  is  no  Joint  Committee  on  Printing 
its  duties  are  to  be  performed  by  the  committee  in  existence  in  either  house. 
As  by  the  Senate  rules  its  committees  hold  office  till  their  successors  are 
appointed,  while  the  House  committees  expire  with  the  Congress,  these 
duties  devolve  upon  the  Senate  i>rinting  committee  in  the  odd  numbered 
years  between  the  4th  of  March  and  the  opening  of  the  next  Congress. 
But  see  exception  as  to  paper,  etc.,  purchases,  of  the  Government  Print  ng 
Office,  noted  below. 

8  Paper  bought  by  the  Government  Printing  Office  for  the  government 
printing  in  191 1  cost  $1,342,853;  materials  and  other  supplies,  $611,573; 
lithographing  and  engraving,  $133,362.  See  speech  by  Senator  Smoot, 
Cong.  Record,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate:  Mar.  12-13,  1912;  v.  48:  3184- 
3196;  3244-3254.  Also  speech  by  Mr.  Barnhart,  Cong.  Record,  64th  Cong., 
ist  sess.,  H.  of  R.;  Apr.  20,  1916;  v.  53:6506. 


26  Government  Printing  Office 

to  suggest  betterments.  That  leading  members  of  Con- 
gress think  this  recommendation  is  based  on  sound  rea- 
sons and  that  there  is  need  of  a  radical  change  in  the 
management  is  shown  by  the  discussion,  to  quote  only  one 
such,  that  took  place  in  the  Senate  in  the  62d  Congress, 
2d  session,  March  12-13,  1912,  when  the  new  printing 
bill  was  under  consideration.  It  was  claimed  that  the 
Government  Printing  Office  is  an  anomaly  in  the  system 
of  administration  at  Washington,  That  it  is  an  admin- 
istrative bureau,  on  a  par  with  the  Census  Bureau  and 
the  Pension  Bureau  of  the  Interior  Department,  and 
especially  with  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  of 
the  Treasury  Department.  The  head  of  each  of  these 
bureaus  is  accountable  to  the  head  of  his  department,  the 
latter  in  turn  to  the  President,  ensuring  a  double  super- 
vision, with  full  power  of  issuing  commands  and  enforc- 
ing them  by  removal,  if  necessary.  The  public  printer, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  supervised  only  by  a  committee  of 
Congress,  and  the  powers  of  this  committee  are  limited 
to  those  the  statutes  explicitly  place  in  its  hands.  The 
committee  does  not  report  statedly  to  Congress  on  its 
administration,  nor  does  that  deliberative  body  hold  a 
relation  of  administrative  control  toward  its  standing 
committees.  The  changing  membership  of  a  Congres- 
sional committee ;  its  varying  political  complexion ;  the 
scattering  of  responsibility  among  its  six  members ;  the 
paramount  claims  upon  their  attention  of  large  national 
affairs  and  the  interests  of  their  home  sections;  the 
chance  that  they  may  know  nothing  of  the  publishing 
business ;  these  are  patent  arguments  to  those  who  claim 
that  a  committee  of  a  deliberate  law-making  body  can 
never  satisfactorily  carry  the  administration  and  respon- 
sibilities of  a  huge  publishing  office  like  this.  The  Print- 
ing Joint  Committee  would  probably  be  represented  be- 
tween sessions  of  Congress  by  its  clerk,  in  whose  hands 
would  be  lodged  the  powers  of  the  six  members  scattered 
in  various  parts  of  the  United  States.^ 

9  See,  for  protest  of  Public  Printer  Ford  against  executive  control  of  the 


Government  Printing  Office  27 

For  these  reasons  the  Government  Printing  Office  was 
referred  to,  in  the  discussion  quoted,  as  the  "  lost  child  " 
of  our  national  administration,  an  administrative  bureau 
astray  from  the  executive  branch  of  the  government  un- 
der which  it  properly  belongs.  During  the  more  than 
half  a  century  of  its  existence  under  Congress  there  has 
passed  no  ten-year  period  without  its  expensive  investi- 
gation brought  on  by  alleged  waste,  inefficiency,  or 
abuses.^"  During  this  period  there  have  been  as  many 
public  printers  as  Presidents,  or  more,  while  since  1802 
there  have  been  only  eight  librarians  of  Congress. 
There  would  seem  to  be  no  need,  and  only  detriment  to 
the  service,  in  changing  the  public  printer  every  time  the 
administration  of  the  government  changes,  as  is  neces- 
sary with  the  heads  of  the  ten  executive  departments, 
who  are  the  President's  advisers. 

The  public  printing,  originally  concerned  almost  en- 
tirely with  work  for  Congress  alone,  has  developed  till 
now  two-thirds  to  three-quarters  of  it  is  book  or  pam- 
phlet publishing  for  the  executive  and  judicial  branches 
of  the  government.^^  The  Government  Printing  Office  at 
this  period  is  a  truly  national  publishing  house.  With 
the  introduction,  since  1900,  of  typesetting  and  other  com- 
plicated machinery,  the  problems  of  cost  of  production  in 
relation  to  this  expensive  equipment  have  also  become 
complex.  ^lore  technically  and  specially  expert  workers 
and  a  vastly  more  difficult  administrative  control  are  now 
required  in  the  Government  Printing  Office  than  in  the 
old  days  of  all  hand  labor. 

Government  Printing  Office  by  a  Congressional  committee,  U.  S.  Senate. 
Printing  Committee.  Hearing,  63d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Mar.  14  &  21,  1914,  p. 
25  and   ff. 

10  "  There  have  been  since  1840  seventeen  Congressional  investigations  in 
relation  to  the  public  printing.  ...  In  addition  there  have  been  at  least 
four  investigations  by  the  executive  branch  of  the  government."  U.  S. 
Printing  Investigation  Commission.  Report.  Feb.  19,  1909.  (S.  Report 
1044,  60th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  p.  4.) 

11  ".  .  .  The  Government  Printing  Office  does  twice  as  much  work  each 
year  for  the  executive  departments,  independent  offices,  and  establishments 
of  the  government  as  is  done  for  Congress."  (Statement  of  Public  Printer 
Ford    in    Hearing,    Mar.    14    &    21,    1914-)     Non-Congressional    publications 


28  Government  Printing  Office 

Those  who  compare  the  Government  Printing  Office 
with  similar  private  pubhshing  and  printing  plants  say 
that  placing  the  Government  Printing  Office  under  de- 
partment control  would  impair  its  responsiveness  to  the 
abnormally  fluctuating  and  exacting  demands  of  the  work 
for  Congress.  The  highest  efficiency,  they  claim,  can  be 
secured  only  by  putting  the  office  under  a  board  of  di- 
rectors to  be  named  by  the  President,  made  up  of  repre- 
sentatives of  Congress  and  of  the  publishing  departments, 
and  of  technical  experts,  all  of  whom  should  serve  for 
a  slight  compensation.  Accountability  of  the  public 
printer  to  such  a  board  should  be  secured  by  powers  of 
investigation  and  of  recommendation  of  removal.  Re- 
port should  be  required  from  him  of  such  data  as  the  di- 
rectors of  any  manufacturing  plant  expect  from  its  su- 
perintendent. With  estimates  and  appropriations  put  on 
a  business  basis;  with  insubordination,  intrigue,  and  "  po- 
litical pull  "  inside  the  office  put  down ;  and  the  public 
printer  and  all  employes  secured  against  political  inter- 
ference from  outside ;  given  a  competent  pul)lic  printer, 
at  an  adequate  salary,  with  permanent  tenure  of  office  for 
himself  and  all  other  employes,  subject  to  removal  for 
cause  only,  with  full  powers  to  organize  the  office  and 
bring  it  to  its  greatest  efficiency  —  given  these  conditions, 
and  the  administration  of  the  Printing  Office  would  be 
settled  on  a  business  basis  once  for  all,  and  no  further 
investigations  be  ever  heard  of. 

The  intent  of  the  law  is  to  secure  that  all  the  printing 
of  the  national  government  shall  be  done  at  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office.  Exception  is  made,  where,  in  ter- 
ritory outside  of  Washington,  as  in  the  field  services  all 
over  the  country,  or  in  "  non-contiguous  territory  " —  the 
insular  possessions.  Canal  Zone,  and  other  like  localities 
—  convenience  requires  that  the  work  be  done  near  at 
hand. 

There    are    in    Washington    at    present    three    branch 

reprinted  as  House  and   Senate  Dccunients  are  7s7c    in  bulk,  but  only  one 
fifth  in  number  ct  the  whc^Ie  teries. 


Government  Printing  Office  29 

printing  offices  operated  for  the  convenience  of  depart- 
ments in  department  buildings.  These  are  in  the  Library 
of  Congress,  where  the  catalog  cards  distributed  to 
libraries  and  other  library  printing  and  the  library 
binding  arc  done ;  in  the  Weather  Bureau ;  and  in  the 
State.  War,  and  Navy  building.  Others  have  been  pro- 
gressively abolished,  three  no  longer  ago  than  1910.  Of 
these  all  except  that  in  the  Weather  Bureau  are  under  the 
Government  Printing  Office. 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  the  Government  Printing  Of- 
fice in  1 861,  while  the  public  printing  was  given  out  on 
contract,  the  rule  was  in  good  repute  and  generally  fol- 
lowed that  work  for  a  political  party  must  be  paid  for  by 
lucrative  public  office  or  perquisite,  or  that  "  to  the  victor 
belong  the  spoils."  This  pernicious  spoils  system  held 
sway  in  the  Printing  Office  for  many  years,  causing  much 
waste  and  incompetence.  But  in  1895  the  office  was  put 
under  the  civil  service  law.  It  is  perhaps  the  largest 
government  employer  of  workmen  of  union  grade,  and 
the  authorities  have  defined  it  as  their  policy  that  it  is  to 
be  an  open  shop. 


Before  1895:  Abuses  and  Reform 

The  United  States  embarked  in  the  book  pubhshing 
business  with  no  supervisory  or  expert  directorship  in 
charge.  It  happened,  as  things  have  a  way  of  doing; 
and.  h'ke  Topsy,  the  business  "  jest  growed.'  Tiiere  was 
pressure  in  the  Printing  Office  itself  to  create  as  much 
work  and  make  as  many  places  for  political  appointees 
as  possible.  This  delayed  the  use  of  typesetting  and 
other  labor-saving  machinery  till  long  after  the  date  when 
every  other  large  printing  establishment  had  installed 
them;  and  caused  long  successful  opposition  to  the  sul)- 
stitution,  in  place  of  the  expensive  and  non-durable,  la- 
bor-consuming, full  sheep  bindings,  of  more  practical 
buckram  and  other  fabrics.  As  the  number  of  publica- 
tions multiplied,  the  bad  bibliographical  methods,  or  lack 
of  method,  and  the  absence  of  system  and  supervision 
caused  great  waste  and  extravagance.  Documents  were 
ordered  printed  lavishly  and  in  quantities  not  based  on 
any  calculation  of  the  numbers  needed  for  use.^-     Confu- 

12  Some  statistics  of  publications  lavishly  printed  and  distributed  may  be 
interesting. 

Of  the  Official  Records  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  a  statement  made  in 
1905  IS  as  follows.  (U.  S.  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  Report,  1906, 
V.  1:  124.  The  plates  were  then  being  destroyed.)  Set  consists  of  128 
volumes  (including  index)   and  atlas.     There  were  printed: 


Usual  number          (then)    1,850  sets 

cost    $    218,122.27  ' 

For  W"ar   Dept.                    11,000  sets 

cost      1,479,447.49 

Includes    only 

To   supply    each   mem-  ■ 

printing,        pa- 

her  of  the  53d,  54th, 

S5th.   56th  and   57th   T            "   *"* 

cost        234.251-74 

-  per,   and   bind- 
ing;    not    cost 

Congresses 

$1,931,821.50 

of  compilation. 

A  partial  statement  (same  date  and  reference)  of  the  Official  Records  of 
the  Union  and  Confederate  Navies  follows.  19  volumes  to  date  of  state- 
ment.    (Set  IS  still  being  published;  series  i,  v.  2T,  now  out.) 

Usual   number  (now)      1,345     sets         cost  $  23.579.59 

For  Navy  Dept.  11,000  sets        cost     181,735  25 

$205,314.84 
30 


Before  1895  31 

sion  was  added  to  waste  by  reprinting  a  report  or  paper, 
of  which  the  first  issue  should  have  satisfied  all  demands, 
in  a  second,  a  third,  or  even  a  fourth,  fifth,  or  sixth  dif- 
ferent form,  each  with  the  same  contents,  but  with  differ- 
ent and  misleading  title-pages,  binder's  titles,  and,  pos- 
sibly, preliminary  pages,  as  one  of  a  series  of  volumes  or 
as  part  of  a  larger  report. 

Distribution  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  members  of 
Congress,  among  whom  the  copies  of  each  publication 
were  divided  in  quotas  fixed  by  law.  Finding  their  al- 
lotments of  documents  accumulating  on  their  hands, 
members  sent  them  out  broadcast  to  their  constituents 
without  inquiry  as  to  whether  they  were  wanted,  could 
be  used,  or  had  been  already  received.  Valuable  works 
that  cost  the  state  thousands  of  dollars  to  prepare  and 
print  came  into  the  hands  of  people  who  never  looked 
inside  them.  These  persons  deemed  them  worthless  and 
dry-as-dust  statistics,  and  felt  only  contempt  for  them. 
They  regarded  them  as  junk  and  disposed  of  them  as 
such. 

Of  the  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  edited  by  Richardson,  the 
following  facts  may  be  stated.  Each  set  consists  of  lo  volumes,  ist  and  2d 
editions  (21,000  sets)  were  distributed  by  members  of  the  54th  Congress 
(1895-97).  The  3d  edition,  bringing  the  total  to  36,000  sets,  was  distributed 
by   the   55th   Congress.      (Documents   Office,   Report,    1897 '98.) 

Of  the  Yearbook  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  one  volume,  an 
edition  of  500,000  is  printed  annually.  Cost  is  now  82  cents  a  copy.  Elimi- 
nation of  the  report  of  the  secretary  as  provided  in  the  new  bill  will  reduce 
cost  to  so  cents.     Distribution  is  as  follows: 

Senate   1 10,000  copies 

House  of  Representatives    360,000  copies 

Agriculture    Dept 30,000  copies 

Of  the  wall  maps  of  the  United  States  prepared  by  the  General  Land 
Office,  5x7  feet,  backed  with  muslin  and  mounted  on  rollers,  the  legislative 
appropriation  act  annually  provides  for  the  following: 

Senate     7,200  copies 

House  of  Representatives   14,400  copies 

For  General  Land  Office   500  copies 

For  sale   1 5.000  copies 

Each  senator  has  72  maps,  and  each  representative  has  32  maps. 
Of   Diseases   of   the   Horse,    one   volume,   there   had   been   printed   in    1905 
(beginning   of   the    59th    Congress)    96    editions,    usually    of    100.000    up   to 
250,000   copies  each.     Succeeding  Congresses   have  also   printed   editions   of 
the  same  size. 

Diseases  of  Cattle,  also  one  volume,  has  been  ordered  printed  in  about 
the  same  number  of  editions,  usually  of  50,000  to  100,000  copies. 


32  Before  1895 

These  reckless  and  prodigal  methods  were  flagrant  and 
an  open  scandal.  Meanwhile  students  were  seeking  the 
l)ublications  of  the  government  more  and  more,  as  the 
country  grew  and  the  government  constantly  extended 
its  field  of  economic  and  scientific  activity,  and  as  study 
of  social  economics  and  political  administration  became 
more  detailed  and  universal.  But  the  people  who 
wanted  these  works  either  heard  nothing  or  only  vaguely 
of  their  existence  ;  or  were  at  a  loss  how  or  where  to  get 
them ;  or,  when  applying,  found  the  supply  exhausted  by 
the  indiscriminate  giving.  To  the  average  man  the  gov- 
ernment body  which  issues  a  document  is  a  riddle,  and 
even  the  title  of  the  work  is  often  unknown.  The  only 
known  agent  to  whom  to  apply  is  the  member  of  Con- 
gress, who  is  himself  often  only  one  step  ahead  of  the 
private  citizen  by  virtue  of  being  on  the  spot  of  publica- 
tion. 

Those  who  handled  the  government  publications,  the 
librarians  and  others,  saw  clearly  that  reform  was  needed 
not  only  in  distributing  but  in  publishing  methods.  They 
saw  that  order  and  method  and  supervision  must  be  set 
up  and  that  the  abuse  in  indiscriminate  free  distribution 
should  be  stopped  to  ensure  that  the  people  who  wanted 
the  publications  of  the  government  should  get  them.  Not 
only  this,  but  also  they  were  convinced  beyond  contro- 
versy that  it  was  the  lack  of  competent  editorial  super- 
vision and  of  bibliographical  system,  of  which  the  chief 
ill  result  was  the  constant  reprinting  in  different  forms  or 
editions,  that  created  confusion  and  complexity  and  was 
at  the  bottom  of  the  difficulties  experienced  by  librarians 
and  the  public  in  the  use  of  these  publications.  A  cen- 
tral bureau  of  information  and  distribution  was,  it  was 
thought,  needed,  also  reform  in  methods,  and  proper  cata- 
logs and  indexes. 

A  beginning  in  this  direction  had  been  made  by  Dr. 
John  G.  Ames,  superintendent  of  documents  under  the 
Interior  Department,  the  distributing  agent  of  govern- 
ment publications  under  the  laws  of  1857-1861  then  in 


Before  1895  33 

force.  He  had  corresponded  with  Hbrarians,  giving  in- 
formation about  government  pubUcations,  had  circu- 
lated checklists  of  sets  of  reports,  had  made  his  office  a 
clearinghouse  for  return  of  duplicates  and  supply  of 
volumes  needed,  and  had  prepared  an  index  to  works 
published  by  the  United  States  between  1889  and  1893. 
This  was  published  by  the  government  in  1894,  but  has 
since  been  superseded  by  a  later,  fuller  edition,  also  the 
work  of  Dr.  Ames.^^ 

13  See  Checklist,  p.  459,  lis. 2:1m. 


VI 

Documents  Office 

The  agitation  for  reform  thus  finding  response  in 
Washington  took  shape  in  a  law  which  was  approved  by 
the  President  January  12,  1895,  '^^ith  the  title,  An  Act 
providing  for  the  public  printing  and  binding  and  the 
distribution  of  public  documents.  On  this  law  and  its 
many  amendments  is  based  the  entire  system  according 
to  which  the  Government  Printing  Office,  the  public 
printing,  and  the  distribution  of  government  publications 
are  carried  on  today. 

By  this  law  of  1895  the  office  of  superintendent  of 
documents  of  the  Interior  Department  ^*  was  abolished, 
and  there  was  created  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of 
documents  (or  Documents  Office)  subordinate  to  the 
Government  Printing  Office.  Its  functions  are  to  have 
charge  of  government  publications  for  storage,  sale,  and 
distribution,  and  domestic  exchange  (foreign  exchange 
being  continued,  as  heretofore,  through  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  with  the  Library  of  Congress  as  intermedi- 
ary) ;  and  to  prepare  certain  designated  catalogs  and  in- 
dexes of  them.  The  superintendent  of  documents,  after 
passing  a  civil  service  examination,  is  appointed  by  the 
public  printer,  to  whom  he  reports.  According  to  the 
provisions  of  the  new  printing  bill  he  will  be  appointed 
by  the  President. 

Francis  A.  Crandall,  an  experienced  newspaper  editor 
and  publisher,  was  the  first  appointee  under  the  new  law. 
To  him  fell  the  interpretation  of  the  law  as  to  his  own 
duties,  and  the  entire  organization  of  his  office  and  its 
work.     It  was  fortunate  for  the  whole  country  that  this 

14  Continued  as  "  clerk  in  charge  of  documents  "  with  supervision  of  the 
publications  of  the  Interior  Department,  till  office  was  discontinued  July  i, 
1907. 

34 


Documents  Office  35 

initial  organization  came  into  the  hands  of  a  man  so 
progressive,  of  such  broad  outlook,  such  high  and  exact- 
ing standards  and  devotion  to  the  public  interests.  The 
accumulations  of  government  publications  scattered  in 
different  places  in  Washington  and  elsewhere  were  now 
gathered  under  one  roof.  One  copy  of  every  publication 
was  set  aside  to  form  a  library.  The  library  thus  begun 
is  now  the  most  nearly  complete  collection  of  United 
States  publications  in  existence,  and  numbered  at  the 
end  of  the  fiscal  year  191 5/ 16  210,224  documents  and 
maps.  It  may  be  said  that  the  library,  when  the  office 
was  organized,  was  set  aside  from  the  cataloging,  so  that 
the  office  of  librarian  carries  with  it  no  authority  over  nor 
supervision  of  the  large  cataloging  staff". 

In  its  inception  the  oftice  was  planned  to  be  the  repre- 
sentative at  Washington  of  libraries  and  the  general  pub- 
lic, to  be  the  medium  for  voicing  their  claims  and  view- 
point, and  for  obtaining  what  they  need.  These  needs 
and  this  view-point  are  often  not  understood  in  ofiicial 
Washington,  or,  it  may  be,  are  quietly  thwarted  behind 
the  scenes  by  some  individual  office-holder  or  clique,  to 
whose  interests  they  run  counter.  By  keeping  in  touch 
with  this  ofiice  and  cooperating  with  it,  libraries  and  the 
public  can  make  themselves  heard  and  felt  on  the  subject 
of  the  national  publications.  Officials  of  the  Documents 
Office  and  of  other  branches  of  the  executive  service  are 
working  under  a  system  and  laws  of  which  they  are  not 
expected  to  show  up  the  defects  or  to  undertake  the 
reform.  Call  for  reform  often  must  issue  from  the  peo- 
ple before  the  voice  of  the  disinterested  official  pointing 
out  the  need  for  it  can  get  a  hearing. 

The  Documents  Office  has  its  mechanical  and  business 
side  in  its  storage  and  distribution  functions.  The  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office,  to  which  it  is  a  subordinate 
bureau,  though  its  mechanical  work  reaches  a  high  grade, 
has  only  that  kind  of  work,  while  the  Documents  Office, 
in  addition  to  its  mechanical  work,  conducts  a  library, 
does  much  reference  work,  and  compiles  catalogs  and 


36  Documents  Office 

indexes  which  require  the  highest  technical  and  Hterary 
skill. 

These  bibliographical  functions  should  be  kept  in  view 
in  the  selection  of  the  superintendent  of  documents,  who 
should  have  comprehension  and  appreciation  of  this 
brancii  of  the  work  also.  While  librarianship  and  bibli- 
ographical work  are  rated  at  their  true  value  in  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress,  so  that  Congress  has  provided  perma- 
nence of  tenure  there,  and  the  present  librarian  is  only 
the  eighth  in  succession  since  1802,  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
the  work  identical  in  kind  which  the  Documents  Office 
does  has  not  obtained  recognition.  The  bibliographical 
staff  of  the  office,  16  in  number,  are  submerged  among 
the  4,000  odd  printers,  binders,  clerks  and  laborers  of  the 
whole  establishment.  If.  as  the  new  printing  bill  pro- 
vides, the  President  is  vested  with  the  appomtment  of 
the  supermtendent  of  documents,  appeal  may  be  made  to 
him  to  prevent  deterioration  of  bibliographical  standards 
by  making  the  appointment  dependent  upon  qualifications 
such  as  the  librarian  of  a  large  public  library  must  have, 
or  even  by  selecting  the  superintendent  of  documents 
from  the  ranks  of  the  librarians  themselves.  Perma- 
nence of  tenure  must  be  ensured  to  attract  a  good  man. 
Put  on  the  level  due  it  as  cataloging  and  library  work, 
and  recognized  as  such,  this  office  should  be  removed 
from  the  field  of  appointments  made  and  unmade  on 
political  considerations  and  as  parties  rise  and  fall. 

The  work  of  the  Documents  Office,  especially  of  storage 
and  distribution,  has,  since  its  organization,  steadily 
grown  in  amount  and  been  extended  by  legal  enactment. 
During  the  fiscal  year  1915/16  the  cash  sales  of  the  office 
amounted  to  $185,712.01  for  5,298,380  pieces  sold.  The 
number  of  letters  received  totaled  304,341.  Since 
October,  19 12,  this  office  has  done  the  "  addressing,  wrap- 
ping, and  mailing  "  of  all  publications  sent  out  on  depart- 
mental mailing  lists,  and  these  totaled,  during  191 5/ 16, 
36,892,075.  Its  function,  not  mentioned  in  the  law,  as  a 
bureau  of  expert  advice  and  information  on  all  matters 


Documents  Office  37 

pertaining  to  United  States  government  publications  and 
the  public  printing,  is  not  the  least  service  rendered  by  it. 
The  office  has  had  no  small  share  in  indicating  needed 
reforms,  and  improved  methods  have  resulted  whenever 
legislation  has  followed  the  advice  given  by  the  experts 
of  this  office. 


VII 

Catalogs  and  Bibliographies 

For  making  the  catalogs  and  indexes  required  by  the 
law  there  were  brought  in  at  the  organization  of  the  office 
trained  and  experienced  workers,  and  for  the  first  time 
scientific  methods  of  cataloging  as  taught  in  the  library- 
schools  were  applied  to  the  cataloging  of  a  large  body  of 
government  publications.  The  resulting  catalogs  showed 
a  clearness  and  thoroughness  and  practical  utility  which 
were  a  revelation  to  those  who  had  declared  that  govern- 
ment publications  required  principles  and  rules  quite  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  use  for  other  works.  They  were  re- 
ceived with  universal  commendation  and  satisfaction  by 
librarians,  scholars,  professional  and  business  men,  in 
short,  by  all  who  have  occasion  to  use  the  United  States 
publications,  and  they  are  now  being  issued  practically 
the  same  in  form  as  then  begun. 

This  continued  adherence  to  a  system  which,  as  has 
been  said,  has  met  with  a  chorus  of  encomiums  from  its 
thousands  of  users,  is  good  for  two  reasons.  The  first  is 
that,  while  minor  improvements  might  be  made,  espe- 
cially in  the  direction  of  uniformity  with  Library  of  Con- 
gress practice,  yet  a  total  overthrow  of  the  present  sys- 
tem would  almost  certainly  be  a  change  for  the  worse 
and  not  for  the  better.  The  second  is  that  entries  on 
cards  for  all  the  Document  Catalogs  issued  to  date  are 
in  the  possession  of  the  Documents  Office,  and  from  them 
can  be  made  up  a  consolidated  catalog  covering  a  long 
term  of  years  and  many  Congresses,  if  at  any  time  de- 
sired. This  could  not  be  done  if  the  system  were 
changed. 

The  catalogs  and  indexes  which  the  law  requires  are 
three  in  number.  First ;  a  "  comprehensive  index  of  pub' 
lie  documents,"   to  be   published   at  the   close  of   each 

38 


Catalogs  and  Bibliographies  -       39 

session  of  Congress  and  to  include  all  the  publications  of 
the  period.  All  since  the  early  issues,  however,  have 
been  published  at  the  close  and  to  cover  the  period  of  a 
whole  Congress  instead  of  a  single  session,  as  being  less 
interrupted  and  more  convenient.  Such  a  change  is 
given  legal  authority  in  the  new  printing  bill.  This,  com- 
monly known  as  the  Document  Catalog,^^  is  in  full  dic- 
tionary catalog  form,  and  is  the  fullest  and  only  com- 
plete alphabetical  record  of  all  United  States  govern- 
ment publications  to  be  had.  The  Monthly  Catalog  is 
also  as  fully  complete,  but  is  not  alphabetical.  Atten- 
tion is  called  to  the  entry  to  be  found  in  each  Document 
Catalog,  in  its  alphabetical  place  under  the  heading, 
"  Congressional  Documents  List."  Here  is  given  a 
schedule  or  systematically  arranged  list  of  all  the  vol- 
umes of  the  Congressional  series  for  the  Congress  which 
the  catalog  covers. 

Second ;  the  "  consolidated  index "  is  in  title-a-line 
index  form,  and  is  restricted  to  the  Congressional  set 
alone.  It  was  thought  of  as  superseding  the  six  sepa- 
rate indexes  which  had  been  heretofore  made  and  bound 
in  each  volume  of  the  six  series,  viz. :  Senate  Miscellane- 
ous Documents,  Senate  Executive  Documents,  Senate  Re- 
ports ;  and  House  Miscellaneous  Documents,  House  Ex- 
ecutive Documents,  and  House  Reports,  respectively ;  and 
as  being  a  consolidation  of  all  these  six  in  one,  in  a  sepa- 
rate volume  by  itself.  This  is  known  as  the  Document 
Index,^'  and  will  be  taken  up  more  fully  later  with  the 
Congressional  publications. 

Third ;  a  "  Monthly  Catalog  "  ^'  of  all  United  States 
publications.  This  has  taken  on  more  the  form  of  a 
bibliography  or  list,  being  a  record  of  documents  ar- 
ranged under  the  departments  and  their  subordinate  bu- 
reaus issuing  them,  with  a  curt  index  which  refers  to 
page  only.  The  index  has  been  variable,  and  is  missing 
in  some  parts  of  the  file.     Indeed,  this  catalog  has  seen 

15  See  Checklist,  p.  417. 

16  See  Checklist,  p.  418. 

17  See  Checklist,  p.  418-420. 


40  Catalogs  and  Bibliographies 

more  vicissitudes  and  changes  of  form  and  arrangement 
than  the  others.  Notes  at  the  beginning  of  each  issue 
give  helpful  information  and  explanation  and  call  atten- 
tion to  noteworthy  documents.  This  Monthly  Catalog 
is  the  only  one  which  gives  price  and  directions  where 
to  apply  to  obtain  a  work. 

In  addition  to  these  regularly  issued  catalogs  required 
by  law,  the  Documents  Office  published  in  1902  what  is 
known  as  the  "  Tables  and  Index,"  ^^  including  the  Con- 
gressional set  only,  but  including  that  set  from  the  15th 
to  the  52d  Congress,  1817-1893.  It  is  in  two  parts,  the 
first,  a  list  of  all  the  volumes  published  by  the  Congresses 
covered;  the  second,  an  alphabetical  index  to  the  same. 
As  the  alphabetical  index  part  is  only  113-753  P^g^s,  and 
it  covers  38  Congresses,  it  may  be  contrasted  with  the 
1-2025  pages  of  alphabet  in  the  eleventh  volume  of  the 
Document  Catalog,  which  covers  only  one  Congress, 
the  62d.  It  is  true  the  Document  Catalog  is  not  re- 
stricted to  the  Congressional  set  alone,  as  is  the  Tables 
and  Index ;  also  the  number  of  publications  has  multi- 
plied more  than  an  hundredfold ;  therefore  as  a  test  of 
the  minuteness  and  completeness  of  the  Tables  and  In- 
dex the  comparison  can  not  be  said  to  be  exact. 

Besides  these  catalogs  the  Documents  Office  has  pub- 
lished its  annual  reports ;  sundry  bulletins  of  varying  size 
and  importance ;  and  a  large  number  of  priced  sale  lists.^^ 
These  last  have  been  distributed  broadcast  to  bring 
home  to  the  people  knowledge  of  the  subject  matter  and 
value  of  the  federal  publications,  and  to  stimulate  sales. 
But  most  important  of  all,  the  office  issued  in  191 1  the 
Checklist  of  United  States  Public  Documents,  1789-1909, 
third  edition,  to  the  value  of  which,  as  a  model  bibliog- 
raphy, and  as  a  treasury  of  facts  about  the  various  gov- 
ernment bodies  and  their  publications,  testimony  has  al- 
ready been  given. 

Of    the    index   to    United    States   publications    of    all 

18  See  Checklist,   p.  416. 

19  See  Checklist,  p.  415-425. 


Catalogs  and  Bibliographies  41 

branches  of  the  government,  prepared  by  J.  G.  Ames  -'^ 
as  superintendent  of  documents  before  that  office  was 
transferred  from  the  Interior  Department  to  the  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office,  mention  has  already  been  made. 
The  first  edition  covered  only  1889- 1893,  and  was  in  one 
volume.  A  second  edition,  published  in  1905,  superseded 
this  and  extended  the  years  covered  to  embrace  1881- 
1893.  Dr.  Ames's  work  is  in  form  an  index,  which  form 
precludes  giving  titles  of  works  with  uniformity  and 
bibliographical  exactness,  and  in  so  far  fails  occasionally 
in  identification  of  the  work  recorded.  But  its  construc- 
tion, with  the  Congressional  series  designations  and  num- 
ber of  pages  or  volumes  in  the  right  margin,  and  the 
author,  official  or  personal,  in  the  left  margin,  is  ingenious 
and  space-saving;  and,  though  necessarily  incomplete, 
due  to  the  compiler's  scanty  means  for  getting  hold  of 
what  was  published,  it  is  a  useful  work. 

A  catalog,  also  purporting  to  include  all  works  of 
the  government,  had  been  issued  in  1885,  and  is  the  work 
of  Ben  Perley  Poore."^  It  covers  the  period  1 774-1 881, 
and  embraces  a  perhaps  surprisingly  large  proportion  of 
what  had  been  published,  although  not  much  except  what 
is  in  the  Congressional  set.  Its  construction  is  clumsy 
and  time-consuming,  namely,  a  chronological  list  of  titles 
occupying  most  of  the  bulky  large  quarto  volume,  fol- 
lowed by  an  alphabetical  index  of  subjects  and  authors 
which  refers  to  page  only.  Thus  the  whole  double- 
column  page  has  to  be  searched  to  find  the  title  to  which 
reference  is  made. 

To  assist  the  memory  and  guide  in  making  quick  and 
sure  reference  to  the  right  book  for  each  work  or  prob- 
lem sought,  a  summary  of  the  seven  available  lists  and 
catalogs  is  herewith  given :  — 

Bibliographies  or  lists.-'^ 
To  all : 

Checklist;  ist-6oth  Congress;  1789-1909. 

20  See  Checklist,  p.  459. 

21  See  Checklist,  p.    i6_'.3. 

22  See,  for  account  of  bibliographies  and  lists,  Checklist,  pages  vii-xiii. 


42  Catalogs  and  Bibliographies 

Continued  by 
Monthly    Catalog;    54th    Congress,   near   close    of    3(1 

session,  to  date;  January,   1895  —  date   of   latest 

issue. 
To  Congressional  set  only  : 

Checklist,  tables  in  first  part;  ist-6oth  Congress;  1789- 

1909. 
Tables  and  Index,  tables  in  first  part;  I5th-52d  Con- 
gress; 1817-93. 
Document    Catalog,    under    heading,    "  Congressional 

Documents  List";  53d  Congress,  1893,  to  date  of 

latest  issue. 
Document  Index,  Schedule  of  Volumes  at  end:  54th 

Congress,  1895,  to  date  of  latest  issue. 

Catalogs 

To  all: 

Poore;  1 774-1 881. 

Ames ;  1881-1893. 

Document  Catalog;  1893  —  date  of  latest  issue. 

Continued  by 
Monthly  Catalog,  Index  to ;  1895  —  date  of  latest  issue. 
To  Congressional  set  only : 

Tables  and   Index,  second  part;   I5th-52d   Congress; 
1817-1893. 
Continued  by 
Document  Index;  54th  Congress,  1895  —  date  of  latest 
issue. 


VIII 

Depository  Libraries 

A  library  to  which  according  to  law  all  or  certain  pub- 
lications of  the  national  government  must  be  sent  is 
called  a  depository  library.-^  The  practice  of  supplying 
documents  to  libraries  dates  from  early  in  the  history  of 
the  nation,  but  acts  of  1857,  1858,  1859,  and  1861  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  present  system  of  designation  by 
members  of  Congress  of  libraries  in  their  home  locali- 
ties as  depositories.  As  the  law  now  stands  each  repre- 
sentative may  designate  one  library  in  his  district  and 
each  senator  and  delegate  one  in  his  state  or  territory. 
Certain  libraries  additional  to  these  have  been  made  de- 
positories by  special  enactments  from  the  early  days  on. 
In  the  new  printing  bill  the  list  by  special  enactment  is 
slightly  enlarged,  and  that,  being  most  likely  the  list  of 
the  future,  is  given  here :  —  the  libraries  of  all  the  execu- 
tive departments,  at  present  ten  in  number ;  of  the  United 
States  Military  and  Xaval  academies;  of  the  Documents 
Office,  and  the  Pan-American  Union ;  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society  —  this  having  been  continuously  a 
depository  from  1814,  the  first  created  by  law;  the 
libraries  of  the  land-grant  colleges,  67  in  number;  of 
each  state  and  territory,  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  of 
Porto  Rico,  and  of  the  Philippines;  and  of  the  Canal 
Zone,  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  the  Historical  Library 
and  Museum  of  Alaska. 

At  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  191 5/ 16,  the  existing  de- 

23  See  list  of  depositories  and  references  to  laws  concerning  them  in  U.  S. 
Documents  Offiee,  Official  list  of  depository  libraries  ...  to  Jan.  i,  1909, 
p.  3-6.  (Bulletin  ij.)  Also,  same  infcrmaticn  brought  down  to  lattr  date, 
but  without  list,  in  U.  S.  Documents  Office,  Depository  libraries.  [July  15, 
1913]  4  P  (Circular  22,  2d  rev.  ed.)  See  also,  beyond,  Bibliography 
of  Laws:  Depositories.  Also  U.  S.  Congress.  Printing  Joint  Committee. 
Congressional  printing  handbook,    1913,   p.   95-103. 

43 


44  Depository  Libraries 

positorics  to  which  the  superintendent  of  documents  was 
making  regular  shipments  numbered  484. 

By  the  earher  laws  distribution  to  depositories  was 
made  through  the  Interior  Department.  When  the  print- 
ing law  of  1895  abolished  the  office  of  superintendent  of 
documents  in  that  department,  it  transferred  this  distri- 
bution to  the  new  Documents  Ofifice  under  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office. 

Of  course,  the  object  of  the  Congressional  designations 
of  libraries  to  receive  the  national  publications  is  to  pro- 
vide complete  collections  of  these  at  centers  in  every  part 
of  the  United  States.  That  these  collections  should  be 
complete,  and  in  fixed  libraries  whose  designations 
should  be  permanent,  and  not  partial  collections  scat- 
tered among  many  libraries  whose  designations  should 
change  as  the  membership  of  Congress  changes,  will  not 
be  questioned.  Congress  took  a  step  to  effect  this,  after 
redistricting  had  occurred  in  some  states,  by  providing, 
in  the  act  of  March  i,  1907,  that  existing  designations  in 
the  redistricted  area  should  be  permanent.  Again,  the 
sundry  civil  appropriation  act  of  June  2T),  1913,  in  view 
of  a  rearrangement  of  Congressional  districts  to  follow 
a  new  reapportionment,  took  the  precaution  to  enact  the 
same  for  the  whole  country.  But  the  new  printing  bill 
takes  the  designation  of  depositories  away  from  the 
shifting  membership  of  Congress  and  vests  it  in  the  su- 
perintendent of  documents,  as  a  decisive  step  for  the 
permanency  and  completeness  of  these  storehouses  of  the 
nation's  publications,  at  the  same  time  enacting  that  all 
existing  designations  shall  stand  permanently. 

Depositories  are  required  to  have  a  minimum  of  1,000 
volumes  outside  of  the  documents,  and  to  be  free  to  the 
public.^*  They  are  expected  to  accept,  preserve,  and 
make  accessible  to  the  public  all  the  nation's  publications 
sent  them.     They  may  not  sell,  give  away,  destroy,  nor 

24  The  new  printing  bill  does  not  specify  requirement  of  minimum  size  for 
depository  libraries,  but  says  they  are  to  be  designated  "  under  such  rules 
and  regulations  as  shall  be  approved  by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing." 
It  does  require  that  all  publications  given  them  shall  be  made  accessible  to 
the  public. 


Depository  Libraries  45 

reject  anything  except  duplicates,  and  these  they  are  ex- 
pected to  frank  back  to  the  clearing  house  of  the  Docu- 
ments Office  in  Washington.  The  number  of  books, 
pamphlets,  etc.,  sent  to  each  depository  during  the  fiscal 
year  1915/16  was  1,627,405,  an  average  of  over  3,362  to 
each  one.  The  responsibility  of  providing  shelf  room 
and  of  caring  for  so  much,  including  always  some  mate- 
rial that,  in  all  probability,  in  some  of  them  will  never  be 
used,  has  weighed  heavily  upon  especially  the  smaller 
and  poorer  depositories.  The  new  printing  bill  provides 
that  each  library  be  allowed  to  choose  whether  every- 
thing, or  only  certain  publications  shall  be  sent  to  it. 
To  give  relief  to  such  libraries  as  wish  it,  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Documents  has,  since  19 14,  with  the  approval 
of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  distributed  to  libra- 
ries on  this  selection  basis,  each  depository  selecting  what 
it  will  receive.-^  That  this  possibility  of  rejection  be- 
cause of  lack  of  means  to  care  for  might  result  in  there 
being  no  complete  collection  of  documents  within  a  wide 
area,  especially  in  the  newer  states,  where  libraries  are 
fewer  and  with  smaller  resources,  is,  perhaps,  the  only 
danger  in  this  concession.  The  depository  library  has 
responsibilities,  each  in  its  own  locality,  for  all  future 
time,  to  the  historian,  the  archivist,  the  delver  into  first 
hand  sources  of  the  past,  and  should  govern  itself  by  this 
consideration  as  well  as  by  the  current  needs  of  its 
readers. 

The  weakness  of  the  depository  system,  which  has 
been  a  sufficiently  long  time  on  trial,  is  that,  while  theo- 
retically a  good  one,  it  does  not  correspond  to  the  actual 
situation  in  regard  to  libraries  throughout  the  United 
States.-*^  Leaving  out  of  the  question  the  state  libraries, 
there  are  not  dotted  all  over  the  United  States  at  equal 
intervals  and  for  equal  units  of  population  such  as  the 

25  See  U.  S.  Documents  Office.  Depository  libraries.  [July  15,  igu-l 
4  I).      (Circular  22,  2d  rev.  ed.) 

2ti  See,  for  criticism  of  the  present  system  of  designating  depositories, 
Library  Journa),  33:  150-151,  Apr.,  1908.  Also  Public  Libraries,  12:  251- 
254,  1907  (Hasse),  or  same,  in  American  Library  Association,  Papers  and 
proceedings,  igt",  p.   132-135. 


46  Depository  Libraries 

Congressional  districts  represent,  libraries  the  support 
and  accommodations  of  which  are  adequate  to  accepting 
and  caring  for  the  thousands  of  publications  which  a 
generous  Uncle  Sam  has  arranged  to  bestow  upon  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  large  and  increasing  num- 
ber of  libraries  which  have  use  for  certain  publications 
selected  according  to  the  needs  of  each  library.  Neither 
the  present  law  nor  the  proposed  bill  makes  adequate  pro- 
vision for  these  libraries,  which,  it  would  seem,  siiould 
look  for  their  supply  to  the  one  agency,  the  Documents 
Ofifice,  rather  than  to  the  various  publishing  offices, 
and  for  the  demands  of  which  that  ofhce  should  be  given 
an  ample  quota  of  every  work  as  it  comes  from  the  press. 
As  has  been  said,  when  the  new  printing  bill  becomes  law 
the  designations  of  depositories  will  be  legally  vested  in 
the  Documents  Office,  and  the  selection  plan  will  permit 
a  depository  to  accept  only  one  book  a  year  —  an  ab- 
surdly improbable  minimum  —  if  that  is  all  it  can  use 
and  take  care  of.  These  concessions  having  been  ob- 
tained, there  should  be  initiated  immediately  movement 
for  a  further  improvement  in  the  depository  system. 
The  lists  should  be  thrown  open,  so  that  any  and  all 
libraries  may  become  depositories.  The  depository  sys- 
tem should  become  more  a  system  of  registration  of 
libraries,  as  the  libraries  of  New  York  state  register  with 
the  New  York  State  Education  Department  and  receive 
certain  privileges.  Any  library  that  fulfils  the  conditions 
of  registration  should  then  be  entitled  to  call  upon  the 
Documents  Office  as  its  legally  appointed  central  agent 
for  the  supply  free  of  any  publication  of  the  govern- 
ment —  and  that  office,  as  said  above,  should  have  such 
control  of  editions  that  it  shall  not  fail  these  demands. 

Should  it  be  said  that  the  government  can  not  afford 
such  universal  free  distribution  to  libraries,  one  needs 
only  to  point  to  the  overprinting  going  on  as  evidenced 
by  the  sales  to  the  junk  man  of  tons  of  printed  matter 
that  no  one  wants,  and  the  other  waste  through  bad  pub- 
lication methods  described  in  these  pages,  to  show  that 


Depository  Libraries  47 

economy  should  be  effected  by  cutting  off  what  no  one 
wants  rather  than  what  the  hbraries  want  for  their  pub- 
lic.^^  For,  one  copy  preserved  and  cataloged  in  a 
library  saves  providing  a  hundred  copies  to  as  many  in- 
dividual readers. 

In  addition  to  those  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
there  are  also,  according  to  the  law  of  1895,  the  so- 
called  geological  depositories  and  the  Patent  Gazette  de- 
positories, named  by  members  of  Congress  to  receive 
publications  of  the  Geological  Survey  and  the  Official 
Gazette  of  the  Patent  Office  respectively.  Of  the 
former  libraries  each  of  the  96  senators  and  the  440 
representatives  and  delegates  can  name  four,  making  a 
possible  total,  in  1917,  of  2,144  geological  depository 
libraries.-*  Of  the  latter,  each  could  designate  eight,  and 
the  possible  total  becomes  4,288  Patent  Gazette  deposi- 
tory libraries.  As  not  so  many  libraries  were  found 
wishing  these  publications  as  was  expected,  and  other 
ways  of  obtaining  them  are  open  to  such  as  do  want  them, 
both  these  classes  of  depositories  are  to  be  abolished  by 
the  new  bill. 

Among  documents  which  are  exceptions  to  the  gen- 
eral rule  that  one  copy  of  everything  published  goes  to 
the  depository  libraries  may  be  mentioned  the  follow- 
ing:—  such  as  are  confidential  or  which  are  printed  ex- 
clusively for  the  needs  of  the  department  of  bureau ;  the 
bills  and  resolutions  of  Congress ;  the  Senate  and  House 
Journals ;  the  reports  and  digests  and  other  publications 
of  the  federal  courts ;  besides  others,  mostly  minor  in 
size  or  technical  in  nature,  e.g.  the  Treasury  decisions. 

27  "  Of  such  accumulated  returns  vve  have  recently  destroyed,  by  permis- 
sion of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  nearly  i,ooo  tons  of  books  which 
were  absolutely  worthless."  Superintendent  of  Documents  (Post)  in  Lib. 
Jour.  34:  44,  Feb.,  1909.  See  also  reports  of  the  Documents  Office  for 
i9i4/'5.  191 5/16,  and  other  years.  See  also  speech  of  Senator  Smoot,  Mar. 
12  &  13,  1912,  p.  43,  under  heading:  Waste  of  Public  Documents;  same  in 
Cong.   Record,   Mar.    12,    1912. 

28  The  first  enactment  of  geological  depositories  was  by  joint  resolution  of 
Mar.  3,  1887,  permitting  two  designations  to  each  member  of  Congress.  The 
law  of   1895  granted  two  more. 


IX 

Edition  and  Demand:  "Usual  Number:" 
"Up  Number:"  "Reserve" 

The  laws  regulating  United  States  government  publi- 
cations under  the  present  complicated  system  are  very 
detailed  and  voluminous. -■'  They  undertake  to  settle  for 
each  publication  just  how  many  copies  shall  be  printed 
and  to  whom  each  shall  go.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  go  into  the  subject  of  the  number  of  copies  of  each 
work  allowed  by  law  to  be  printed,  and  their  distribution. 
But  the  phrases  "  usual  number,"  "  up  number,"  "  re- 
serve," have  been  brought  into  discussions  of  printing 
regulations  so  often  as  to  require  explanation.  The  four 
series  of  the  Reports  and  Documents  of  the  Senate  and 
House,  and  many  other  publications,  are  ordered  printed 
in  the  "  usual  number."  Of  many  publications  the  law 
provides  that  there  shall  be  printed  an  extra  number  of 
copies  "  in  addition  to  the  usual  number."  The  usual 
number  was  originally  a  fixed  number  in  the  statute. 
It  is  designed  to  be  just  so  many  copies  as  will  supply  all 
the  regularly  entitled  recipients.  By  the  law  of  1895  i^ 
was  set  at  1,682.  It  has  fluctuated.-  It  was  stated  be- 
fore the  Printing  Investigation  Commission  in  1905  as 
1,850.  The  latest  statement  has  named  it  as  "approxi- 
mately 1,345  copies,  varying  with  the  number  of  deposi- 
tory libraries.''  ^°  In  the  new  bill  it  is  not  a  fixed  num- 
ber, but  instead  the  recipients  are  designated,  and  it  is 

20  See,    bej-ond.    Bibliography:    Laws. 

30  See  statement  by  Geo.  H.  Carter,  clerk  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Printing,  Library  Journal,  Nov.,  1914,  p.  818.  But  see  also  U.  S.  Congress. 
Printing  Joint  Committee,  Congressional  printing  handbook,  1913,  p.  15> 
where  number  is  stated  as  1,316  copies,  and  the  varying  numbers  of  inter- 
national exchanges  and  foreign  legations  mentioned  as  factors  in  determin- 
ing the  "  usual  number."  Everhart,  published  1910,  gives  the  usual  number 
as   2,474,   including   "  up-number  "    i,-'77  and   reserve    1,197. 

48 


Edition  and  Demand  49 

ordered  that  a  sufficient  number  of  copies  be  printed  to 
supply  them.  It  is  also  specified  whether  their  copies 
are  to  go  to  them  bound  or  unbound.  The  bill  makes 
the  varying  factors  two  in  number :  —  the  depository 
libraries ;  and  the  press  galleries,  and  the  newspaper  cor- 
respondents whose  names  are  now  listed  in  the  Congres- 
sional Directory,  these  latter  being  newly  added.  This 
addition  it  is*  estimated  will  bring  the  usual  number  up 
to  about  1,800  copies.  The  recipients,  not  to  give  a  com- 
plete list,  include  members  of  Congress  and  its  officials, 
government  offices  generally,  together  with  the  legations 
in  Washington  (this  being  dependent  on  whether  the 
favor  is  reciprocated  in  the  legation's  country),  the  in- 
ternational exchanges  through  the  Library  of  Congress, 
and  the  depository  libraries.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  depositories  are  sure  to  get  all  of  which  the  usual 
number  is  printed.  Other  publications  are  provided  for 
them  by  special  clauses  or  acts. 

The  "  up  number  "  was  those  given  immediately  to  the 
recipients,  mostly  in  Washington,  and  unbound.  The 
"  reserve  "  was  put  aside  to  be  bound  and  distributed 
later  to  depositories,  or  on  order  to  members  of  Con- 
gress. By  law  of  June  25,  1910,  the  **  members'  reserve," 
or  that  portion  of  the  whole  reserve  which  was  put  aside 
for  two  years  subject  to  being  bound  and  given  in  fixed 
quotas  to  members  of  Congress,  on  their  orders,  was 
abolished,  and  their  need  supplied  from  the  Senate  and 
House  document  rooms. ^^  This  reduced  the  size  of  the 
usual  number.  The  depositories  are  now  supplied 
from  the  "  up  number."  These  details  are  not  of  spe- 
cial interest  except  to  those  who  work  the  machinery  in 
Washington,  and  are  also  largely  gone  by. 

The  problem  of  the  legislators  is  to  adjust  supply  to 
demand,  and  the  existing  system  of  statutory  regulation, 
applying  a  fixed  rule  to  every  case,  does  not,  of  course, 
accomplish  this.  The  Printing  Investigation  Commis- 
sion perceived  this,  and  caused  to  be  passed  public  reso- 

31  See  S.   Report  568,  6ist  Congress,  2d  session,  Apr.  16,   1910,  4  p. 


50 


Edition  and  Demand 


lution  14  of  March,  1906  (59th  Congress,  ist  ses- 
sion). This  requires  that,  prior  to  printing  publications 
of  more  than  trifling  cost,  an  estimate  of  the  numljcr  of 
copies  needed  for  use  be  made,  and  that  only  such  num- 
ber of  copies  be  first  printed,  this  to  be  regarded  as  a 
first  edition.  When  this  edition  is  exhausted,  another 
edition  or  editions  may  be  printed  to  supply  demands,  till 
the  aggregate  equals  the  total  authorized  by  law.  The 
resolution  applies  to  both  Congressional  and  executive 
publications.  Regulations  under  this  statute  were  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  on  May 
18,  1906,  and  revised  January  13,  1909,  the  latest  revi- 
sion being  dated  October  6,  1913.^"  Included  is  a  list  of 
129  publications  which  are  ordinarily  printed  each  year, 
giving  for  each  the  usual  number,  unbound  and  bound, 
and  the  extra  copies,  as  authorized,  with  the  distribution 
of  each,  and  in  each  case  the  substituted  number  that  is  to 
be  printed  as  a  first  edition.  The  edition  plan  would 
seem  to  have  the  effect  of  substituting  another  and  lower 
fixed  number  for  that  in  the  printing  laws,  with  an  added 
element  of  flexibility  in  being  able  to  reprint  if  demand 
arises.  As  to  publications  not  on  the  list,  those  which 
are  Congressional  and  not  over  one  hundred  pages  have 
no  estimate  made  of  them,  nor  first  edition  printed. 
Those  who  make  the  edition  estimates  for  the  various 
classes  of  publications  are,  respectively,  the  publishing 
departments,  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  the  Docu- 
ments Office,  and  the  document  rooms  and  folding  rooms 
of  the  Senate  and  House. 

There  seems  a  growing  tendency  to  substitute  in  the 
laws  provisions  which,  instead  of  fixing  the  number  of 
copies  of  a  publication  to  be  printed,  delegate  that  re- 
sponsibility to  the  body  or  officers  which  are  going  to  use 
or  distribute  it,  giving  them  carte  blanche  to  order  such 
an  edition  as  is  needed.  Why  this  could  not  be  made 
the  universal  rule  naturally  comes  up  to  question.     In 

32  For  regulations  of  1906  see  U.  S.  Printing  Investigation  Commission, 
Report,  1906.  V.  2,  p.  672-691.  Later  revisions  are  printed  as  separate 
pamphlets.     See,  beyond,   Bibliography:    Printing   Investigation  Commission. 


Edition  and  Demand  51 

the  same  way  as  a  budget  is  made  up,  estimates  of  the 
number  wanted  could  be  handed  in  in  advance  of  print- 
ing, by  every  ofifice  or  officer  that  will  use  or  distribute  a 
work,  to  whatever  board  or  officer  is  appointed  to  have 
charge  of  the  details  of  printing  and  distribution.  Let- 
ting the  total  edition  then  be  kept  in  some  central  store- 
house, all  parties  could  draw  upon  it,  according  to  their 
estimates,  at  their  convenience,  and  the  remainder  be 
available  for  sale  to  individuals  and  free  distribution  to 
libraries  on  request.  The  obligation  laid  upon  all  offices 
in  Washington  handling  government  publications,  execu- 
tive and  Congressional,  to  return  all  surplus  to  the  Docu- 
ments Office  each  year,  would  soon  disclose  whether  a 
department  had  made  its  estimates  recklessly  and  in  ex- 
cess. The  time-honored  custom  of  delivering  to  stated 
recipients  fixed  quotas  of  publications  for  which  they 
have  expressed  no  desire,  and  for  which  they  may  have 
neither  use  nor  storage  room  seems  to  operate  to  enrich 
the  junk  man  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment. 


X 

Distribution  ^' 

There  are  at  present  three  overlapping  agencies  of  dis- 
tribution:—  (i)  the  publishing  department;  (2)  the 
Documents  Office;  and  (3)  the  members  of  Congress. 

The  official  source  of  information  —  outside  of  sales 
lists  and  the  like  —  as  to  price  and  where  to  apply  for  a 
special  publication  or  class  of  publications  is  the  Monthly 
Catalog. 

It  is  to  be  marked,  first  and  foremost,  that  the  Docu- 
ments Office  is  the  great  storage  and  supply  house  of  all 
the  publications  of  past  years. 

To  the  Documents  Office,  in  its  capacity  as  a  clearing 
house,  libraries,  individuals,  officers  and  departments  of 
the  United  States  may  return,  under  franks  furnished 
by  the  office,  all  superfluous  and  unused  government 
publications.  It  is  one  of  the  functions  of  the  Docu- 
ments Office  to  relieve  the  other  government  offices  of 
the  necessity  of  keeping  a  stock  of  back  publications. 
From  these  incoming  lots  the  office  extracts  what  is 
usable  and  still  in  demand.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  on 
the  waste  going  on  that  —  so  great  has  been  the  conges- 
tion of  books  pouring  in  upon  the  office  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  and  all  departments  of  the  government,  and 
so  impossible  the  problem  of  storing  them  in  numbers 
mounting  up  into  the  millions  —  the  office  has  found 
itself  forced  to  seek  means  of  relief.  At  five  different 
dates  between  1908  and  1912,  3,039,342  copies  of  surplus 
and  obsolete  publications  were  condemned,  cut  up,  and 
sold  as  waste  at  eight-tenths  of  a  cent  a  pound."*     The 

33  Wm.  S.  Rossiter,  What  shall  we  do  with  public  documents?  Atlantic, 
97:  560-565,  1907.  See  also  W.  L.  Post  in  Library  Journal,  34:  44,  48,  Feb., 
1909. 

34  U.     S.    Congress.     Printing    Joint    Comn^ittee,    Congressional    printing 

52 


Distribution  53 

mere  paper  alone,  before  any  of  the  labor  of  printing  or 
binding  was  expended  on  it,  had  cost  the  country  from 
three  and  one-half  to  seven  cents  a  pound.  Sale  of  junk 
paper  goes  on  today  to  the  amount  of  $125,000  a  year. 

It  is  to  be  marked,  secondly,  that  the  Documents  Of- 
fice is  the  almost  exclusive  agent  for  the  selling  of  gov- 
ernment publications. 

The  policy  has  been  developed  of  requiring  individuals 
to  pay  for  government  publications,  the  price,  according 
to  law,  to  be  usually  equal  to  the  cost  of  printing  from 
stereotype  plates,  including  paper  and  binding.  This  is, 
of  course,  far  below  the  actual  cost,  as  it  leaves  out,  in 
the  process  of  manufacture,  the  composition  or  typeset- 
ting, and  does  not  reckon  in  at  all  the  preparation  of 
manuscript  or  authorship  value.  An  example  is  the 
Checklist  .  .  .  1789- 1909,  a  work  of  1.707  octavo  pages, 
which  is  sold  at  $1.50.  One  hundred  times  this  sum 
would  not,  perhaps,  for  the  number  of  copies  that  will  be 
sold,  pay  the  salaries  for  the  time  spent  on  it  of  the  ex- 
perts who  compiled  the  work.  And  the  expense  of  set- 
ting the  type,  if  added  to  the  cost  as  the  government 
reckons  it,  would  more  than  double  the  price. 

Although  individuals  are  expected  to  pay,  it  is  the 
policy  of  the  government  to  give  freely  to  libraries  that 
are  open  to  the  public  whatever  they  can  use.  It  is  as- 
sumed that  the  depository  libraries  will  be  supplied  with 
everything  intended  for  distribution.  Mark,  thirdly,  that 
the  Documents  Office  is  the  agent  of  supply  to  the  deposi- 
tory libraries.  But  for  the  libraries  of  medium  size  also, 
now  so  rapidly  increasing  in  number,  the  Documents  Of- 
fice should  become  the  authorized  agent  of  free  distribu- 
tion. It  should  be  supplied  with  quotas  of  all  publica- 
tions sought  for  by  those  libraries  in  order  to  give  them 
out  to  the  libraries  on  demand.  This  need  will,  it  is 
hoped,  before  long  be  recognized  and  provided  for  by 
law.     The  depository  system,  which  looks  especially  to 

handbook,  1913,  p.  127.  See  also  Cong.  Record,  64th  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  H. 
of  R.;  Apr.  26,   1916;  v.   33:6870;  Barnhart. 


54 


Distribution 


the  needs  of  the  large  library,  fails  of  providing  ade- 
quately for  the  libraries  which  will  never  be  of  more  than 
moderate  size.  In  the  newer  and  less  settled  portions  of 
our  country,  where  there  are  few  libraries  able  to  burden 
themselves  with  everything  that  a  multifarious  govern- 
ment puts  into  print,  the  depository  system  breaks  down ; 
and  everywhere  it  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  a  more 
general  system  of  giving  to  any  and  all  free  libraries. ^^ 

When  a  librarian  wants  to  get  a  United  States  govern- 
ment publication,  let  him  consider  first  whether  it  is  a 
recent  work  or  not.  As  has  been  explained,  publications 
of  past  years  are,  as  a  rule,  obtainable  only  through  the 
Documents  Of^ce.  though  some  government  offices  may 
cling  to  the  practice  of  supplying  files  of  their  own  puljli- 
cations.  Next  let  it  be  decided  whether  it  is  a  Congres- 
sional publication,  or  whether  it  is  non-Congressional  in 
origin,  i.e.,  issued  by  some  body  of  the  executive  or  ju- 
dicial branch  of  the  government,  a  department,  bureau, 
oflfice.  division,  a  court,  or  a  permanent  commission  or 
board.  In  the  identification  of  the  oi^cial  author  the 
Checklist  .  .  .  1789-1809,  and  the  pamphlet,  Author 
Headings  for  United  States  Public  Documents'*^  (three 
editions,  1903,  1907,  and  191 5,  each  covering  only  its  own 
period),  or  the  list  of  government  authors  at  the  end  of 
each  Document  Catalog,  will  be  of  service. 

If  the  publication  be  decided  to  be  recent  and  non-Con- 
gressional, let  the  librarian  then  consult  the  "Monthly 
Catalog  of  the  appropriate  date  to  see  if  there  are  any 
special  directions  for  applying  for  it.  Although  a  price 
may  be  named  there,  it  does  not  follow  that  a  library  will 
have  to  pay  to  get  it.  If  the  Monthly  Catalog  is  not  at 
hand,  or  if  no  special  directions  are  given  there,  let  the 
librarian  ask  the  department  or  other  body  which  pub- 
lishes it  to  give  the  library  a  copy,  or,  if  an  annual  or 
other  serial,  to  place  the  library  on  its  mailing  list  so 

35  See  Documents  Office,  Annual  report,  1915/16,  p.  6.  Also,  Library 
Journal,  ^4:  608,  1899.  Also  Clarke,  Government  publications  as  seen  in. 
libraries;  A.   L.  A.   Papers  and  proceedings,   1916,  C:3,  p.  318. 

36  See  Checklist,  p.  416. 


Distribution  55 

that  it  may  receive  this  and  future  issues.  If  the  pub- 
lishing office  can  not  supply  what  is  wanted,  it  will  most 
likely  give  a  hint  as  to  a  source  of  supply. 

The  publishing  office  is  the  preferable  place  for  first 
application  for  a  non-Congressional  publication  because 
of  its  permanence  and  first-handedness.  Especially  is 
this  true  for  annuals  and  other  serials  which  it  is  de- 
sired to  receive  regularly.  The  publishing  office  has  as 
part  of  its  mission  to  keep  the  public,  and  especially  those 
citizens  working  in  the  same  field,  informed  by  means 
of  its  publications  as  to  what  it  is  doing.  Many  research 
bureaus  have  scientific  workers  collaborating  with  them, 
possibly  contributing  in  their  investigations,  and  these  re- 
ceive the  published  results  as  their  due.  On  the  other 
hand,  many  departments,  especially  the  War  and  Navy, 
put  certain  matter  in  print  with  a  single  eye  to  official 
use.  The  non-official  public  is  only  incidentally  allowed 
to  share  in  the  distribution  as  a  favor  from  the  depart- 
ment. Examples  are  the  Manuals  of  Surveying  Instruc- 
tions of  the  General  Land  Office,"  the  Manual  for  Army 
Cooks  ^*  of  the  Subsistence  Department,^"  and  there  are 
many  others.  Other  publications,  like  the  agricultural 
Year  Book  or  the  Smithsonian  reports,  are  published 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  spreading  useful  information. 
These  considerations  seem  to  justify  some  free  distribu- 
tion by  the  publishing  office,  where  it  may  be  done  with 
discrimination  and  an  eye  to  results. 

By  act  of  August  23,  1912,  the  "  addressing,  wrapping, 
mailing,  and  otherwise  dispatching "  of  all  publications 
sent  out  by  publishing  offices  was  directed  to  be  done  in 
the  Documents  Office,  the  mailing  lists  of  each  office  be- 
ing put  for  this  purpose  in  the  hands  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  documents.  In  the  year  191 5/16  the  office 
reported  that  it  distributed  for  the  departments  from 
1,103    stenciled    mailing    key    lists,    containing    850,000 

37  See  Checklist,  p.  509. 

38  See  Checklist,   p.    1233. 

39  The  Subsistence  Department  is  now  a  part  of  the  office  of  the  Quarter- 
master General  of  the  Army. 


56  Distribution 

names.  Changes  on  these  hsts  were  made  to  the  num- 
ber of  274,611  new  names  and  the  cancellation  of  142,- 
444  old  ones.  Many  departments  make  it  their  rule  to 
strike  from  their  mailing  lists  all  depository  libraries, 
which,  as  such,  are  supplied  by  the  Documents  Office, 
unless  a  specific  request  for  a  second  copy  has  been  made. 
Thus  sending  of  duplicates  where  not  needed  is  pre- 
vented, except  that  caused  by  Congressional  distribution. 

Duplication  has  been  a  large  cause  of  the  piling  back 
upon  the  Documents  Office  by  libraries  of  documents 
sent  to  them  but  not  wanted.  It  is  evident  that  this 
duplication  must  be  stopped,  that  the  backward  flow  due 
to  it  must  be  checked,  and  the  actual  demand  be  given  a 
chance  to  assert  itself  and  become  known.  Only  when 
this  has  been  eflfected  can  those  in  charge  at  Washing- 
ton arrive  at  any  rational  estimates  by  which  to  adjust 
supply  to  demand.  Duplication  in  distribution  alone  is 
considered  here.  Elsewhere  the  equally  bad  duplication 
by  publishing  many  editions  of  one  work  is  given  atten- 
tion. But  where  it  can  be  proved  that  there  is  genuine 
use  of  a  work  in  more  than  one  part  of  a  library,  say  in 
the  legislative  reference  section  as  well  as  in  the  docu- 
ments department,  or  in  several  branch  libraries,  it  would 
seem  that  a  government  which  has  been  lavish  to  waste- 
fulness would  not  stint  the  granting  of  a  second,  a  third, 
or  even  more  copies  if  asked  for.  These  extra  copies 
would,  indeed,  be  saved  many  times  over  could  only  re- 
formed and  systematized  methods  of  distribution  be  fully 
enforced. 

Difficulty  may  arise  as  to  publications  of  boards  or 
commissions  not  permanent,  which  have  passed  out 
of  existence  after  having  performed  the  duties  for  which 
they  were  created,  perhaps  leaving  a  trail  of  documents 
which  continue  to  appear  after  their  decease.  Such  are 
the  Industrial  Commission  of  1898-1902,  the  Immigration 
Commission  of  1907-1910,  and  the  Industrial  Relations 
Commission,  1912-1916.  Or  a  publishing  office  may  not 
be  able  to  supply  a  document,  or  may  ask  payment.     Gen- 


Distribution  57 

erally  speaking,  unless  a  library  has  book  funds  ample 
for  all  its  needs,  it  should  try  every  avenue  of  distribu- 
tion before  it  accedes  to  paying  for  a  publication  of  the 
national  government,  although  there  are  a  few  cases 
where  payment  is  required  even  from  a  library.  In  the 
cases  above  mentioned  recourse  must  be  had,  of  course,  to 
the  other  two  sources  of  supply,  the  Documents  Office, 
and  the  state  senators  or  the  representative  of  the  dis- 
trict. 

The  Documents  Office's  supply  of  recent  publications 
for  free  distribution  is  generally  only  a  remainder  after 
the  legal  distribution  has  been  carried  out.*''  As  the 
legally  designated  residuary  legatee  of  every  official  body, 
however,  copies  are  likely  to  drift  in  later  from  those 
sources. 

Congressional  free  distribution 
Congressional  publications,  i.e.,  such  as  have  printed 
on  them  —  and  it  is  part  of  the  binder's  title  as  well  — 
the  title  of  one  of  the  four  series :  —  Senate  Reports, 
Senate  Documents,  House  Reports,  House  Documents  — 
are  to  be  asked  for  from  members  of  Congress.  Also 
from  them  is  to  be  asked  at  present  the  Congressional 
Record,  although  by  the  new  law  the  Documents  Office 
will  supply  this  to  depositories. 

Centralization,  whether  for  sales  or  gifts,  is  conceded 
to  be  desirable,  and  the  establishment  of  the  Documents 
Office  was  with  the  intent  that  it  should  serve  as  such  a 
central  agency.  We  have  seen,  however,  that  free  dis- 
tribution by  departments  may  and  should  exist  in  har- 
mony with  this. 

For  free  distribution  by  members  of  Congress  there 
would  seem  to  be  no  such  justification.  Originally, 
when  the  publications  which  emanate  from  Senate  and 
House  were  all  there  were  published,  no  other  means 
of  giving  them  out  to  the  public  existed  or  was  thought 

40  The  Documents  Office's  supply  for  distribution  is  stated  by  Senator 
Smoot  as  consisting  solely  of  "  remainders  .  .  .  reversions  .  .  .  and  ex- 
changes .   .   ."     See    S.   Report   731,   6ist   Congress,   2d   sess.     May   23,   1910. 


58  Distribution 

of.  Now  that  two-thirds  to  three- fourths  are  non- 
Congressional,  and  the  Documents  Office  has  been 
created  expressly  to  take  care  of  the  distribution,  the 
old-time  free  distribution  by  members  of  Congress, 
like  the  free  seed  distribution,  has  lost  its  excuse  for  be- 
ing. As  it  can  not  fail  to  be  on  political  lines,  and  with- 
out discrimination  or  knowledge  as  to  use  or  interest,  it 
has  been  in  the  past  the  main  source  of  duplication  and 
extravagance  in  the  disposal  of  the  government's  print- 
ing. Sent  by  members  of  Congress  to  their  constitutents, 
lightly  prized  as  a  compliment  or  a  bonus,  the  volumes 
find  their  way  to  attic  or  cellar  and  are  thrown  out  in  the 
annual  housecleaning,  and  dumped  upon  the  local  library 
or  the  second-hand  man,  and  trickle  back  to  the  clearing- 
house at  Washington. 

Great  as  is  its  direct  wastefulness,  it  indirectly  fosters 
even  greater  extravagance  in  its  bad  effect  upon  methods 
of  publication.  It  fosters  the  overloaded  Congressional 
set.^^  Not  that  a  work  published  independently  of  the 
set  is  not  just  as  free  to  the  member  of  Congress  if 
he  asks  for  it  as  one  published  in  the  set,  and  the  valua- 
tion plan  described  in  the  following  paragraph  should 
work  out  that  way.  But  the  officials  who  serve  Con- 
gress in  the  care  and  use  of  the  publications,  changing 
from  time  to  time,  and  untrained  in  dealing  with  book 
collections,  cling  to  the  series  numbering  as  their  only 
life  line  by  means  of  which  they  can  find  and  handle  the 
books.  Without  it  they  are  lost.  The  class  mark  given 
by  the  Documents  Office  to  each  work  as  soon  as  issued, 
being  shorter  and  available  for  every  department  pub- 
lication, has  proved  in  that  office  a  thoroughly  work- 
able substitute  for  the  series  numbers,  and  its  use  by  the 
officials  of  the  Senate  and  House  libraries,  document 
rooms,  and  folding  rooms  would  remove  their  difficulties. 

For  the  senators'  and  representatives'  personal  use,  as 
each  may  require,  of  course  no  restriction  or  stinting  is 
thought  of  or  should  be  made. 

41  See,   beyond,  Why  Bewildering:  topic  6. 


Distribution  59 

What  is  looked  upon  as  a  step  toward  transferring  the 
distribution  now  lodged  in  members  of  Congress  to  the 
Documents  Office  is  put  forward  in  the  new  printing  bill 
by  the  so-called  valuation  plan.  According  to  this  each 
senator  is  to  have  credit  at  the  Documents  Office  to  the 
amount  of  $2,200,  and  each  representative  to  the  amount 
of  $1,800  annually.  The  office  will  send  out  publications 
free  on  his  order  till  their  sale  prices  exhaust  the  credit. 
Duplications  of  orders  will  be  detected  in  the  office  and 
canceled.  The  Report  on  the  bill  has  this  to  say  on  the 
subject:^-  "It  is  believed  that  the  proposition  to  sell 
all  government  pulilications  at  a  minimum  price  should 
be  worked  out  gradually.  .  .  .  The  proposed  distribu- 
tion of  documents  to  members  of  Congress  on  a  valuation 
basis,  as  provided  for  in  section  68,*^  is  another  step  in 
the  progress  towards  the  ultimate  sale  of  government 
publications.  ...  It  is  believed  that  when  the  public  is 
ready  for  the  placing  of  all  government  publications  upon 
a  strict  business  basis  the  change  can  be  .  .  .  made  .  .  . 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned." 

This  order  credit  should  extend  to  anything  pub- 
lished by  the  government  that  is  subject  to  public  distri- 
bution, and  not,  as  drafted  in  the  new  printing  bill,  be 
again  under  rigid  statutory  provision  and  limited  to  fixed 
quotas  of  special  publications  printed  for  Congressional 
valuation,  although  provision  is  also  made  for  obtaining 
others  not  on  the  valuation  list.  That  the  valuation  plan 
will  introduce  incalculability  into  the  demand  that  under 
the  present  system  of  edition  fixed  by  statute  will  be  al- 
most impracticable,  only  shows  the  faultiness  of  that 
system,  and  the  need  of  replacing  it  by  the  editorial  board 
on  government  publications  recommended  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Department  Methods.  This  prospective  cur- 
tailment of  free  distribution,  let  it  once  more  be  observed, 
is  not  intended  to  aiTect  libraries. 

42  Senate  Report  438,  63d  Congress,  2d  session,  p.   68-69;  also  identical 
House  Report  564. 

43  Sec.  so  in  the  64th  Congress  bill. 


6o  Distribution 

Congressional  free  distribution  has  always  included  an 
item  of  expense  little  known  to  outsiders,  namely,  the 
maintenance  by  Senate  and  House  separately  of  folding 
rooms,  each  with  a  number  of  employes  engaged  to  do 
the  wrapping  and  mailing  of  documents  sent  out  by  mem- 
bers. It  has  been  openly  stated  on  the  floor  of  Congress, 
and  the  testimony  at  the  hearings  on  the  proposed  bill 
has  corroborated  it,  that  any  business  firm  could  do  this 
work  at  about  one-half  to  three-fourths  the  expendi- 
ture.^* Although  the  service  ofifered  to  Congress  by  the 
Library  of  Congress,  with  its  immense  resources  and 
its  stafif  of  experts,  in  its  legislative  reference  library,  its 
law  library,  and  its  documents  division  —  where  are  kept 
two  copies  of  every  publication  of  the  national  govern- 
ment —  fulfils  now  all  the  functions  for  which  formerly 
the  House  and  Senate  libraries  were  needed ;  and  the 
experts  of  the  Documents  Ofifice  do  the  distribution, 
as  statistics  show,  with  a  much  higher  percentage  of 
efficiency  than  the  politically  appointed  officials  of  the 
folding  rooms  —  yet  Congress  is  slow  to  relinquish  its 
earlier  appointed  agencies,  even  though  their  work  is  now 
done  better  by  new  ones.  In  its  present  form  the  pro- 
posed bill  does  not  abolish  these  folding  rooms,  but,  the 
sending  out  of  publications  on  the  members'  valuation 
orders  being  transferred  to  the  Documents  Office,  leaves 
to  them  the  wrapping  and  mailing  of  speeches  and  other 
reprints  for  members. 

Objection  to  the  valuation  plan  was  voiced  by  mem- 
bers who  stated  that  if  their  distribution  was  put  on 
a  money  basis  they  would  be  swamped  with  requests  for 
the  more  expensive  w^orks  up  to  a  money  value  far  be- 
yond the  sum  allotted  them ;  while  on  the  quota  basis 
they  could  take  refuge  in  the  reply  that  their  quota  of 
such  a  work  was  exhausted.  The  bill  as  offered  in  the 
2d  session  of  the  64th  Congress  (S.  7795  and  H.  21021) 

44  In  the  Hearings  before  the  House  printing  committee.  May  20-22, 
jgi2,  p.  106,  the  annual  cost  of  the  folding  rooms  is  estimated  at  $88,345, 
doing  work  that  the  superintendent  of  documents  stated  would  cost,  if  done 
in  his  office,  $19,965. 


Distribution  6i 

makes  the  use  of  the  valuation  plan  or  remaining  on  the 
old  quota  system  optional  with  members. 

Before  we  leave  the  subject  of  free  distribution  by 
members  of  Congress  there  should  be  mentioned  again 
the  wholesale  dumping  out  as  waste  and  throwing  away 
of  these  publications  which  have  cost  the  United  States 
so  much  to  print  and  perhaps  to  bind.  In  folding  rooms 
and  document  rooms  of  Congress  by  the  officials  there ; 
by  senators  and  representatives  as  they  receive  them  at 
their  offices  and  homes ;  by  their  constituents  to  whom 
they  ship  the  documents  as  perhaps  unwelcome  gifts  — 
among  all  these  this  disposal  as  waste  goes  on.  Under 
the  present  Congressional  quota  system  the  publications 
go  out,  not  in  answ-er  to  the  cry  —  I  want  information 
about  immigration,  national  banks,  the  soils  of  my  dis- 
trict, or  what  not.  The  cry  seems  to  be  rather  —  Here  is 
this  government  document  stufif  piling  in  upon  us ;  how 
can  we  get  rid  of  it? 

Suinmary 

To  sum  up !  After  twenty  years  the  Documents  Of- 
fice, established  expressly  to  centralize  the  handling  of 
documents,  has  succeeded  in  making  headway  against 
privilege  entrenched  in  habit  only  to  the  extent  of  cen- 
tralizing the  stock  of  back  publications.  But  as  to  cur- 
rent publications  w^e  are  yet  far  from  the  simple  system 
under  which  the  man  in  the  street  and  any  library  can 
apply  to  the  Documents  Office  in  every  case,  and  obtain 
without  fail  by  purchase  or  gift  the  desired  publication. 
The  printing  laws  are  still  burdened  with  undertaking  to 
say  for  each  publication  just  how  many  copies  shall  be 
printed,  and  to  whom  each  copy  shall  go,  instead  of  hand- 
ing over  the  minutise  of  regulation  to  the  Documents 
Office  and  its  bibliographical  experts,  or  to  a  board  repre- 
senting all  parties  concerned,  with  a  budget  system,  mak- 
ing estimates  of  documents  instead  of  dollars,  to  regulate 
the  editions  printed.  Of  a  great  many  publications,  be- 
sides all  in  the  Congressional  series,  the  entire  edition  is 


62  Distribution 

handed  over  for  distribution  to  members  of  Congress, 
or  to  the  pubHshing  department  and  Congress,  the  Docu- 
ments Office  receiving  only  a  few  remainder  copies,*''  and 
those  which  may  later  trickle  back  from  recipients  who 
got  what  they  did  not  want.  As  to  selling,  the  Docu- 
ments Office  has  competitors  among  a  few  of  the  publish- 
ing offices.  Some  of  these  still  hold  on  to  the  sale  o£ 
their  own  publications,  which  is  denied  to  the  Documents 
Office.  And  although  between  450  and  500  libraries  as 
designated  depositories  have  a  legally  appointed  central 
supply  agent  in  the  Documents  Office,  yet  the  great  ma- 
jority of  libraries  which  are  outside  this  class  are  still 
floundering  between  three  cross  currents  of  supply.  We 
are  yet  far  from  fulfilment  of  the  prediction,  "  Some  day 
it  will  come  about  that  every  library  can  have  just  what 
it  wants,  nothing  more,  nothing  less,  and  all  from  one 
central  office."  *''' 

The  tyro  may  be  reminded  that  all  government  publi- 
cations are  sent  from  government  departments  and  by 
members  of  Congress  free  of  mail  charges.  Also  that  no 
government  office  will  accept  postage  stamps  in  payment. 

45  See  table  of  remainders  received  by  the  Documents  Office  from  round 
numbers  printed  for  Senate  ami  House,  in  U.  S.  Congress.  Printing  Joint 
Committtee.   Congressional  printing  handbook,    1913,   p.    102. 

46  J.  I.  Wyer,  U.  S.  government  documents,  1906,  p.  32.  See  also,  be- 
fore, under  Depository  Libraries,  p.  46,  project  for  attaining  to  this 
desired  status. 


XI 

Why  Bewildering:     Bad   Publishing   Methods 

What  follows  is  descriptive  of  a  century's  output  of 
our  country's  publications,  irrespective  of  what  reforms 
have  been  made  in  recent  years.  These,  and  some  which 
still  remain  to  be  made,  will  be  recounted  later. 

The  publications  of  our  national  government  have 
been  in  the  past  very  bewildering,  an  entanglement  in 
the  mass,  and  a  hard  nut  to  crack  in  the  individual  docu- 
ment. The  difficulties  in  their  use  are  various.  Some 
of  them  can  be  remedied ;  others  inhere  in  the  documents 
themselves.  Their  difficulty  exists  in,  first,  their  subject 
matter,  and  in  the  ill-digested  manner  of  its  presenta- 
tion, i.e.,  lack  of  competent  editing;  second,  in  the  bad 
and  all  but  useless  indexes  which  before  1895  were 
given  them ;  third,  in  their  corporate  authorship,  as  the 
cataloging  phrase  goes,  that  is,  in  the  fact  that  their 
authors  are  not  persons,  but  government  or  official  bodies 
and  in  the  fact  that  these  bodies  are  in  constant  process  of 
change ;  fourth,  in  their  involved  titles  with  excessive 
verbiage,  especially  in  the  Reports  and  Documents  of 
Congress ;  fifth,  in  the  way  the  publications  of  Con- 
gress are  arranged  and  gathered  into  volumes,  without 
grouping  by  subject  or  source  (though  now  an  effort  in 
this  direction  is  made),  and  formerly  with  no  key  to  the 
volume  in  the  way  either  of  table  of  contents  or  of  run- 
ning page  headings ;  sixth,  in  being  reprinted  and  re- 
reprinted  to  make  up  various  series,  in  which  works  al- 
ready separately  published  and  dissimilar  in  subject  and 
length  are  arbitrarily  tied  together  by  a  uniform  binding 
and  lettering  and  consecutive  numbering;  seventh,  in 
their  being  reprinted,  also,  as  parts  of  larger  works,  an 
inferior  officer's  report  being  reprinted  in  that  of  the 

63 


64  Why  Bewildering 

next  higher  officer,  and  so  on  till  it  reaches  the  top  of 
the  ladder;  these  reprints  or  editions  being  in  most  cases 
each  the  same  in  text  as  the  original  print,  but,  as  ex- 
plained, being  combined  with  other  matter. 

All  but  the  first  of  these  difficulties  is  bibliographical. 
Many  of  them  arise  from  the  way  documents  are  made 
up  and  their  bad  publication  methods.  Others  can  not 
be  overcome,  but  exist  in  the  publications  themselves, 
and  for  this  class  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  method 
of  dealing  with  the  material  with  fewer  difficulties  could 
be  devised. 

It  is  but  fair  to  say  also  that,  so  far  as  the  writer's 
experience  goes,  the  publications  of  the  United  States 
are  no  more  complicated  than  those  of  other  countries. 
Many  of  the  states  of  the  Union,  also,  follow  the  unde- 
sirable pattern  of  the  federal  publications  in  a  repub- 
lished uniform  complete  series  of  their  publications. 
And  when  the  great  state  of  New  York  offers  no  index 
to  its  voluminous  document  set,  it  is  obvious  that  to  find 
the  document  wanted  is  not  quickly  possible.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  reform  which  is  being  brought  about  in 
the  federal  publications  may  inspire  the  states  to  show 
their  progressiveness  by  following  suit.  Let  us  con- 
sider each  one  of  these  difficulties  more  closely. 

J.  Technical  subjects-'  poor  editing 

First,  difficulties  in  the  subject  matter  and  its  frag- 
mentariness,  and  in  poor  editing.  Government  publica- 
tions, those,  at  least,  which  are  administrative  and  of- 
ficial in  matter,  can  not  be  made  to  have  the  clearness 
and  interest  of  popular  works.  Exception  must  be 
made  of  the  increasing  number  of  valuable  and  authori- 
tative brochures  and  books  prepared  for  popular  in- 
struction by  the  scientific  experts  of  our  government. 
These,  written  in  clear,  terse,  vigorous  English,  often 
attractively  illustrated,  well  bound,  of  a  high  grade  of 
excellence  or  even  elegance  in  typographical  style  and 


Why  Bewildering  65 

execution,  are  the  equals  of  any  put  out  by  private  pub- 
lishers. 

But  the  ordinary  run  of  official  publications  on  ad- 
ministrative business  is  different.  In  the  first  place,  this 
business  is  of  as  many  kinds  and  as  various  as  are  the 
different  sections  of  the  United  States  and  the  affairs 
with  which  government  concerns  itself.  Its  subjects 
are  largely  technical,  special,  local,  matters  of  law  and 
administration  which  the  average  citizen  finds  hard  to 
understand.  In  the  second  place,  often  the  document 
in  hand  concerns  only  one  phase  or  segment  of  a  situa- 
tion or  action  whose  beginning  and  end  are  in  other  docu- 
ments. Usually  no  word  of  explanation  is  oft'ered, 
though  occasionally  curt  references  to  previously  pub- 
lished material  on  the  same  subject  are  given  in  fore- 
word or  text.  It  is  like  one  instalment  of  a  serial  story 
without  the  usual  synopsis  of  the  preceding  chapters. 
In  the  third  place,  many  government  publications  lack 
in  clear  and  systematic  arrangement.  Their  prepara- 
tion has  not  been  given  the  same  thought,  labor  and  skill, 
the  digesting,  arranging  and  boiling  down,  the  molding 
into  shape,  pruning,  and  polishing,  spent  on  private  pub- 
lications that  must  commend  themselves  to  the  public  in 
order  to  pay  for  the  expense  of  their  pul^Iishing.  What 
editorial  supervision  they  receive,  especially  the  admin- 
istrative reports,  is  from  hands  often  not  experienced 
in  book  publishing,  however  highly  versed  in  the  subject 
treated  and  master  of  its  details. 

2.  Poor  indexing 

Second,  lack  of  good  indexes.  The  poor  indexing  of 
the  past  persists  notably  now  only  in  the  index  to  the 
Congressional  Record. ^^  The  indexing  of  the  Statutes 
at  Large,  however,  also  has  not  escaped  criticism.*^  The 
Congressional  set,  since  1895,  has  a  well-made  index,  the 

47  See,  for  criticisms,  beyond,  footnote  under  Legislative  Publications: 
Congressional   Kecord,   p.    128. 

48  See  remarks  of  Mr.  Mann,  Cong.  Record,  51:  15237. 


66  Why  Bewildering 

Document  Index  made  in  the  office  of  the  superintend- 
ent of  documents.  The  six  separate  indexes  which  ex- 
isted before  that  date  have  only  to  be  tried  to  prove  their 
defects. 

J.  Official  authors 

Third,  difificulties  of  corporate  authorship.  C.  A. 
Cutter,  in  his  Rules  for  a  Dictionary  Catalogue,  says, 
"...  Congress,  Parliament,  and  other  governmental 
bodies  are  authors  of  their  journals,  acts,  minutes,  laws, 
etc.,  and  other  departments  of  government  of  their  re- 
ports, and  of  the  works  published  by  them  or  under 
their  auspices."  This  principle  is  adopted  by  all  the 
codes  of  rules  which  have  been  published  in  the  United 
States  since.  A  work  written  by  John  Smith  on  his 
own  initiative,  from  his  own  resources,  and  of  which 
he  will  be  the  sole  and  absolute  owner,  is  very  ditTerent 
from  the  one  which  the  same  John  Smith  compiles  offi- 
cially in  an  office,  in  performance  of  his  official  duties, 
in  time  paid  for  by  the  government  and  with  the  facili- 
ties of  the  office,  and  which,  when  done,  will  be  the 
property  of  the  government.  In  the  latter  case  the  of- 
fice is  the  author,  and  he  is  only  its  agent.  Moreover, 
Smith  is  that  agent  today,  Jones  may  be  tomorrow, 
and  Robinson  next  year.  The  office  stands  throughout 
the  years,  carrying  on  its  work,  producing  literature  and 
results  through  a  shadowy  procession  of  human  agencies 
which  pass  continually  in  and  out  its  gates.  That  the 
production  of  the  office,  material,  spiritual,  or  literary, 
should  be  recorded  in  the  book  of  human  events  under 
the  successive  persons  who  are  the  actual  producers 
would  efifect  a  scattering  and  discontinuity  of  record. 
No,  the  institution  endures  and  the  individual  passes. 
The  corporate  body,  the  legal  entity  that  never  dies, 
never  intermits  rights  and  action,  that  constantly  rein- 
vigorates  and  readapts  itself  by  drawing  in  fresh  in- 
dividualities with  a  fresh  stock  of  ideas,  stands  for  all 
the  personalities  who  at  one  time  and  another  write  in 


Why  Bewildering  67 

its  name.  The  cord  that  binds  together  successive  re- 
ports, decisions,  orders,  bulletins,  etc.,  and  gives  them 
continuity  in  spite  of  the  changing  personnel  of  the  of- 
fice, is  the  government  body  that  issues  them.  There 
are  cases  where  an  individual,  acting  for  the  government 
as  a  special  agent  or  in  a  special  line  or  piece  of  work, 
may  prepare  material  which  retains  a  genuine  personal 
authorship  even  after  publication  as  a  document.  Scien- 
tific and  technical  publications  are  more  likely  than  ad- 
ministrative publications  to  be  of  this  class.  Or  some- 
thing written  by  a  person  unconnected  with  the  govern- 
ment may  be  picked  up  and  published  by  the  govern- 
ment. This  occurs  oftenest  among  the  Documents  of 
Senate  and  House. 

It  may  be  that  the  foregoing  argument  is  not  needed 
to  convince  the  reader  that  the  United  States  Treasury 
Department  is  the  responsible  author  of  the  long  file  of 
annual  reports  from  1790  down,  not  Hamilton,  Wolcott, 
Gallatin,  Fessenden,  Gage,  or  McAdoo ;  that  the  only 
expression  for  the  combined  authorship  of  a  collection 
of  official  papers  of  our  Chief  Executives,  from  Washing- 
ton down  to  Woodrow  Wilson,  is  United  States  Presi- 
dent ;  that  Harvey  Washington  Wiley  is  personally  the 
author  of  his  Principles  and  Practice  of  Agricultural 
Analysis,  3  v.  1906-14,  but  of  the  long  series  of  reports 
prepared  by  him  as  head  of  the  Chemistry  Bureau  of 
the  Agricultural  Department  the  United  States  Chem- 
istry Bureau  stands  as  author,  as  it  does  of  those  made 
by  his  predecessors  and  successors  at  the  head  of  the 
bureau;  that  a  dissenting  opinion  by  a  single  judge  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  let  us  say  Justice  C. 
E.  Hughes,  is  an  opinion  of  the  court  and  to  be  so 
quoted,  although,  at  the  same  time,  a  brief  on  the  case 
written  by  James  Brown,  non-government  employed  law- 
yer, cannot  be  quoted  as  anything  else  than  the  produc- 
tion of  James  Brown  himself. 

The  reader  unversed  in  bibliographical  intricacies,  and 
who,  if  he  thinks  at  all  of  the  authors  of  the  books  he 


68  Why  Bewildering 

sees,  pictures  to  himself  always  some  person  who  has 
written  each  one,  will  by  this  argument  realize  what  this 
is  that  is  called  corporate  authorship.  It  includes,  be- 
sides institutions  and  associations  of  all  kinds,  also  gov- 
ernment bodies  as  a  large  and  important  group.  He 
will  realize,  further,  that  in  order  to  use  public  docu- 
ments with  facility  it  is  essential  to  learn  to  think  in 
terms  of  government  bodies,  to  know  them  by  name,  to 
distinguish  between  two  bodies  with  names  identical  or 
differing  only  slightly,  but  which  are  distinct  and  in 
different  departments,  etc. ;  to  know  the  functions  of 
each  and  its  relations  with  other  higher  and  lower  units 
of  the  government  organization. 

4.  Poorly  made  titles 

Fourth,  difficulties  of  confused,  verbose,  and  mis- 
representative  titles.  The  involved  titles  loaded  with 
verbiage  mostly  occur  in  the  Reports  and  especially  in 
the  Documents  of  the  Senate  and  House.  Much  im- 
provement has  been  made  here  within  a  few  years. 
Most  of  the  separate  Senate  and  House  Documents  as 
well  as  the  committee  Reports  now  have  title-pages  and 
running  titles  at  top  of  the  pages.  But  in  many  cases 
improvement  stops  here,  and  the  title-page  displays  as 
title  a  sample  of  the  same  kind  of  wordy  caption  which 
appeared  on  the  old  documents  above  the  beginning  of 
the  text.  One  example  of  such  a  title  will  suffice. 
Senate  Document  190  of  the  626.  Congress,  2d  session, 
has  for  its  title  the  following: 

626.  Congress  1  c       .  j  Document 

2d  Session    J  1        190 

Fertilizer  Resources 

of  the  United  States 

Message  from  the 

President  of  the  United  States 

Transmitting 
A  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of 


Why  Bewildering  69 

Agriculture,  Together  with  a  Pre- 
liminary Report  by  the  Bureau  of 
Soils,  on  the  Fertilizer  Resources 
of  the  United  States 

December  18,   191 1 

Read;  Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture 

and  Forestry  and  ordered  to  be 

Printed  with  Accompanying  Illustrations 

Washington 

1912 

Page  3  next  to  the  title-page  contains  the  "  Message 
from  the  President,"  7  lines ;  pages  5-6  give  the  "  Letter 
of  Transmittal "  from  the  secretary  of  Agriculture ; 
pages  7-8  give  "  Letter  of  Submittal  "  from  the  chief  of 
the  Bureau  of  Soils;  page  9  is  a  half  title-page  for  the 
work  itself ;  which  is  actually  a  preliminary  report  on 
the  fertilizer  resources  of  the  United  States  by  em- 
ployees of  the  United  States  Soils  Bureau.  Few  will 
deny  that  much  of  this  title  would  be  better  omitted.  An 
example  of  a  simpler  title  is  that  of  House  Document 
1261,  6ist  Congress,  3d  session,  as  follows:  "Special 
Report  of  J.  M.  Dickinson,  Secretary  of  War,  To  the 
President,  On  the  Philippines." 

5.  Publications  diverse,  linked  by  printing-sequence 
numbers,  nozv  discontinuous 

Fifth,  difficulties  in  the  way  the  publications  of  the 
Congressional  set  are  numbered  and  gathered  into  vol- 
umes, without  grouping  by  subject  or  source.  This  in- 
dictment applies  especially  to  the  set  as  it  is  found 
earlier  than  1895.  There  has  been  progressive  improve- 
ment ever  since.  The  present  stage  of  progress,  how- 
ever, presents  certain  conditions  that  are  puzzling  until 
an  explanation  makes  smooth  sailing. 

Of  the  four  series  of  the  Congressional  set :  —  namely. 
Senate  Reports,  Senate  Documents,  House  Reports,  and 


70  Why  Bewildering 

House  Documents  —  each  separate  publication  has  its 
own  number  within  its  own  series.  This  numbering  is 
now  continuous  during  the  duration  of  a  Congress, 
though  in  other  times  the  numl)ering  of  some  of  the 
series  ran  through  one  session  only. 

These  numbers  are  assigned  by  the  Government 
Printing  Ofifice  as  each  publication  comes  over  from 
Senate  or  House  to  be  printed.  For  instance,  on  De- 
cember 7  three  House  Documents  may  arrive ;  they  are 
numbered  House  Document  i  to  3.  On  December  8 
seven  more  may  come ;  they  will  be  numbered  4  to  10. 
The  numbering  efYects  a  chronological  arrangement  ac- 
cording to  date  of  reception  at  the  Printing  Office.  This 
may  or  may  not  exactly  parallel  their  order  according 
to  the  day,  month,  and  year  printed  on  them.  This  date 
of  day,  month,  and  year  is  that  of  action  taken  by  Sen- 
ate or  House  directing  them  to  be  sent  to  the  Printing 
Office,  the  so-called  "  order  to  print." 

This  stringing  on  a  numbered  string  as  they  come 
along  does  not,  of  course,  bring  together  publications  on 
one  subject,  or  successive  reports  of  one  bureau,  nor 
even  the  volumes  of  one  work  if  there  is  any  interval  of 
time  between  their  dates  of  publication.  It  is  the 
way  usually  adopted  for  bulletins,  circulars,  and  the 
like,  and  is  regarded  as  the  best  and  clearest  way  of 
treating  a  mass  of  publications  which  are  mostly  only 
one  leaf  to  a  few  pages  in  extent.  Applied  to  works 
forming  each  a  full  volume  or  set  of  volumes,  it  is  ob- 
jectionable. 

When  they  come  to  be  bound,  such  as  are  large  or 
important  enough  are  bound  separately.  Those  of  less 
size  are  bound  together  in  numerical  order  into  volumes. 
But  as  the  numbers  run  regardless  of  size,  a  volume  of 
small  publications,  say  numbers  1-343,  may  show  gaps 
where  numbers  3,  142  and  275  ought  to  be,  they 
being  large  and  so  bound  separately.  Thus,  in  the  four 
series,  as  they  stand  in  bound  volumes  on  the  shelf,  the 
Report  or  Document  numbers  run  irregularly  and  w'ith 


Why  Bewildering  71 

continual  jumps  over  numbers  lacking  in  their  order. 
For  the  small  undistinctive  papers  that  hold  the  business 
of  Congress  there  is  no  suggestion  that  this  system  of 
numbering  and  voluming  is  not  the  best  that  can  be  de- 
vised. For  the  large  works  that  hold  the  business  of 
the  bureaus,  departments,  etc.,  it  is  the  worst  that  can 
be  devised.  And  until  past  1900  all  was  so  slipshod  and 
careless  and  without  aids,  as  to  make  difficulties  for  and 
often  mislead  the  user.  Now  each  volume  containing 
more  than  one  publication  is  provided  with  a  table  of 
contents  giving  their  numbers  and  titles ;  and  each  pub- 
lication has  a  running  page  heading.  Grouping  together 
into  volumes  by  subject  is  also  done  so  far  as  is  possible. 

In  1895,  Dr.  Ames  added  to  the  Congressional  set  an 
additional  and  independent  numbering  known  as  the 
serial  numbers,  publishing  them  in  the  second  edition  of 
the  Checklist  prepared  by  him.  Beginning  with  the  15th 
Congress,  the  four  series  with  the  House  and  Senate 
Journals  added  being  arranged  by  volumes  under  Con- 
gress, session,  and  series  or  Journal  title,  to  each  volume 
was  assigned  a  number  consecutive  as  the  volumes 
stood  in  order.  As  a  brief  and  simple  identification  and 
arrangement  mark  this  has  proved  of  much  convenience. 

By  the  resolution  of  March  i,  1907,  amended  by  reso- 
lution of  January  15,  1908,  the  annual  reports  and  other 
works  of  departments  —  which  are  the  large  volumes  of 
the  series  of  Documents  of  Senate  and  House  —  appear, 
just  as  before,  as  Documents  and  are  so  distributed  to 
official  Washington,  to  members  of  Congress,  and  to 
the  Library  of  Congress  for  international  exchange. 
But  copies  sent  out  to  depository  libraries  are  in  plain 
title  edition.  Thus  in  the  Congressional  set  in  a  deposi- 
tory library  there  is  a  gap  wherever  one  of  these  vol- 
umes comes.  That  volume  drops  out  from  its  House 
or  Senate  Document  and  from  its  serial  number,  the 
substituted  plain  title  edition  appearing  elsewhere  on  the 
shelves  in  an  orderly  file  with  its  companion  reports  of 
other  years.     Looking  at  the   Schedule  of  Volumes   at 


72  Why  Bewildering 

the  back  of  the  Document  Index,  the  hght-faced  typvi 
entries  there  show  where  these  hiatuses  come  in  the  de- 
pository Congressional  set.^" 

For  this  exclusion  of  the  department  publications 
from  the  Documents  of  Congress  the  Documents  Of- 
fice, the  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  and  the 
librarians  were  unanimous.  The  resistance  to  it  on  the 
part  of  the  offtcials  of  the  documents  rooms  and  libraries 
of  Senate  and  House  —  due  to  lack  of  acquaintance  with 
modern  methods  of  handling  books  in  masses  —  is  in 
line  with  the  fact  formerly  freely  stated  that  the  State 
Department  was  the  only  office  of  its  size  in  the  coun- 
try that  did  not  use  typewriters ;  and  with  the  delay  in 
installing  modern  machinery  in  the  Government  Printing 
Office,  and  in  substituting  the  more  durable  buckram  for 
the  perishable  and  labor-making  sheep  bindings.  The 
conservatism  that  rules  in  Washington  is  the  cause  that 
the  Congressional  set  exists  in  dual  form  —  a  reduced 
and  expurgated  form  in  depository  libraries ;  in  its  old- 
time  fulness  and  redundancy  in  Washington. 

Further  gaps  in  the  Congressional  set  as  it  comes  now 
to  depository  libraries  are  the  following. 

Since  passage  of  the  law  of  January  12,  1895,  the 
Journals  of  House  and  Senate  are  no  longer  sent  to  all 
depositories,  only  three  copies  being  given  out  in  each 
state  or  territory.     The  new  bill  restores  the  Journals. 

By  law  of  January  20,  1905,  depository  libraries  are 
no  longer  supplied  with  reports  of  committees  of  Sen- 
ate and  House  on  private  bills  and  on  simple  and  con- 
current resolutions,  river  and  harbor  projects  being 
classed  as  private  bills.  These  reports  are  now  bound 
into  volumes  together,  and  lettered  A,  B,  C,  etc.     But 

49  But  as  the  decision  whether  a  publication  is  to  be  classed  and  treated 
as  a  publication  of  Congress  or  of  a  department  is  left  to  an  official  of 
the  Government  Printing  Office,  the  so-called  "  jacket  clerk."  much  that  is 
departmental,  or,  at  least,  non-Congressional,  is  made  a  Document.  The 
distinction  between  legislative  and  executive  taught  in  the  elementary  text- 
books of  civics  does  not  seem  to  be  applied.  See  also  beyond,  in  this  sec- 
tion, 6th  topic,  p.  75;  p.  83. 


Why  Bewildering  73 

both  these  lettered  volumes  and  the  Journals  —  again  on 
the  insistence  of  the  ofhcials  who  serve  Congress  in  the 
care  of  the  documents  —  are  given  serial  numbers.  In 
this  case  the  library  never  sees  the  volume  so  numbered. 
These  hiatuses  in  the  sets  on  the  depository  shelves, 
although  they  are  in  the  interests  of  economy  and  good 
methods,  until  understood,  add  to  the  dithculties  of  our 
fifth  topic. 

6.  Reprinting  as  House  and  Senate  Documents 

Sixth,  difficulties  in  the  same  work  appearing  in  vari- 
ous guises  or  editions  by  being  reprinted  in  various 
series.^" 

The  republication,  as  part  of  a  series,  of  a  work  al- 
ready in  print  independently  of  the  series  in  a  plain  title 
edition,  is  almost  the  greatest,  and  certainly  the  least  ex- 
cusable, cause  of  confusion  and  waste  in  United  States 
government  publications.  There  have  been  three  main 
series  which  have  caused  this  waste.  Of  these  one  is 
now  defunct,  and  another  is  to  be  abolished  by  the  new 
printing  bill. 

The  first  in  importance  and  largest  is  the  so-called 
Congressional  set.  To  this  we  shall  return  and  consider 
it  fully. 

A  second  is  the  Alessage  and  Documents  series,  which 
has  ceased  to  exist.^^  In  regard  to  this  it  will  suffice 
to  quote  the  Checklist,  page  1667.  "  The  set  had  no 
value,  because  it  was  merely  a  duplication  (except  for 
binding)  of  some  of  the  volumes  which  appeared  in  the 

50  Edition  as  used  in  the  sections  "  Edition  and  Demand  "  and  "  Why 
Bewildering  ":  topics  6  and  7,  deals  with  two  different  sides  of  what  the 
word  means.  In  the  former  the  discussion  turns  on  how  many  copies  of  a 
work  shall  be  printed  at  one  time.  Each  of  these  copies  is,  of  course,  iden- 
tical with  every  other.  In  "  Why  Bewildering  "  the  discussion  is  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  all  these  identical  copies  and  another  lot  of  copies  identical 
with  each  other  but  differing  from  the  first  lot  in  some  detail,  the  text  being 
the  same.  A  changed  date  on  the  title-page;  the  addition  of  a  note  of  its 
being  numbered  in  the  House  or  Senate  Document  series;  its  repetition  as 
part  of  the  pages  of  a  larger  work;  different  binding;  or  even  —  though  this 
does  not  occur  often  in  government  publications  —  wider  page  margins,  make 
a  different  edition  in  this  latter  sense. 

Bi  See,  for  further  description.  Checklist,  page  1667. 


74  Why  Bewildering 

Congressional  set;  yet  it  was  published  for  nearly  half  a 
century,  hcginnnig  about  1842-43,  or  possibly  a  little 
earlier,  antl  ending  with  the  Message  and  Documents 
Conmiunicated  to  Congress  at  the  Beginning  of  the  2d 
Session  of  the  54th  Congress,  Being  the  Issues  for  1896- 
97.  .  .  .  There  seems  to  have  been  no  definite  provision 
of  law  which  justified  the  existence  or  the  termination  of 
the  set." 

Another  of  the  three  series  is  the  Abridgments  of 
Message  and  Documents,  made  up  of  some  of  the  same 
material  as  the  preceding  two,  namely,  the  President's 
message  and  the  department  reports,  the  latter  reprinted 
with  omissions."^-  When  the  Abridgment  is  issued, 
these  reports  have  already  been  nearly  a  year  in  print 
and  in  the  hands  of  the  public.  The  law  of  1895  ^^~ 
thorized  an  edition  of  12,000  copies  of  this,  and  it  is 
still  being  printed,  but  is  now  usually  condensed  in  two 
volumes  for  each  year.  Reprinting  in  this  series  has 
cost  about  $23,000  annually. 

Librarians  are  not  advised  to  try  to  keep  these  last 
two  series,  and  it  would  be  a  remarkable  case  if  a 
library  could  bring  together  a  complete  set  of  either. 
Volumes  of  the  Message  and  Documents  series  may  be 
used  to  fill  in  gaps  in  the  files  of  the  executive  reports, 
but  the  text  itself  must  be  examined  to  make  sure  what 
year  is  covered,  as  the  binding  dates  mislead.  As  the 
words,  "  Message  and  Documents,"  appear  on  the  title- 
pages  of  early  volumes  of  the  Congressional  set  also, 
identification  of  this  series  is  puzzling;  but  the  binding  is 
black  cloth,  and  the  words  "  Alessage  and  Documents  " 
often  are  part  of  the  binder's  title. 

Leaving  out  of  cons*  deration  the  last  two  series  as 
abolished  or  about  to  be,  let  us  look  at  the  first  men- 
tioned, the  Congressional  set.  This  is  a  necessary  series. 
Its  abolishment  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  but  it  needs  to  be 
expurgated  and  reduced  to  include  only  that  material 
which  properly  belongs  to  it.     The  Congressional  set  as 

52  See   Checklist,  pages   1621-1622;  also  note,  page   1667. 


Why  Bewildering  75 

it  existed  prior  to  1907,  and  exists  today  for  Congres- 
sional and  international  distribution  and  official  Wash- 
ington, but  not  for  depository  libraries,  is  what  is  meant 
here.  It  consists  of  four  distinct  series :  —  Senate  Re- 
ports, Senate  Documents,  House  Reports,  House  Docu- 
ments, all  four  series  made  up  and  bound  in  uniform 
style  so  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  being  but  one 
series."  Of  these  four  series  the  Senate  Reports  and 
the  House  Reports  may  be  dismissed  from  considera- 
tion, as  no  charge  is  brought  against  them  of  contain- 
ing what  does  not  l)elong  under  a  Congressional  classifi- 
cation. They  contain  nothing  previously  in  print,  noth- 
ing non-Congressional  in  origin. 

The  Senate  Documents  and  House  Documents  are 
alone  in  question.  These  two  series  consist  of  what  we 
may  call  class  A,  genuine  Congressional  Documents,  i.e., 
such  as  originate  in  Senate  or  House  or  on  their  order; 
and  class  B.  or  spurious  Congressional  Documents,  which 
are  non-Congressional  in  origin,  originating  in  the  execu- 
tive departments  and  bureaus,  a  few  in  the  judicial 
branch  of  the  government.  These  two  classes,  as  before 
said,  are  designated  since  1907  in  the  Schedule  of  Vol- 
umes at  the  end  of  the  Document  Indexes  by  heavy- 
faced  and  light-faced  type  respectively.  The  division  as 
made  there  is  very  inexact,  and  includes  among  the  gen- 
uinely Congressional  a  good  many  which  are  non-Con- 
gressional, instances  of  which  may  be  seen  by  exam- 
ining any  Schedule  of  Volumes  since  1907. 

Class  A,  genuine  Senate  and  House  Documents,  are 
reports  of  the  officers  and  other  business  of  either 
house  ;  their  manuals  or  rules  ;  memorial  addresses  ;  mes- 
sages from  the  President ;  compilation  of  precedents 
of  parliamentary  practice ;  contested  election  cases ; 
tables  of  estimates  and  appropriations  and  general  gov- 

53  The  House  and  Senate  Journals,  one  volume  for  each  session,  used  to 
be  considered  part  of  the  Congressional  set,  hut  as  the  Congressional  Record 
supersedes  these  in  use  and  their  distribution  is  now  restricted  (see  under 
fifth  topic),  they  are  for  simplicity's  sake  ignored  in  this  section.  See 
beyond:   Legislative  Publications:  Journals. 


76  Why  Bewildering 

ernmcnt  accounts ;  responses  from  executive  depart- 
ments to  resolutions  asking  for  information;  and  all  the 
various  papers  presented  on  the  floor  of  either  house  to 
elucidate  its  debates  —  roughly,  nine  groups.^*  All  these 
own  Congress  as  their  initiative  source,  and,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  are  not  reprints.  All  this  material  must  be 
preserved  in  print,  and  printing  it  in  the  form  of  Sen- 
ate or  House  Documents  is  the  original,  proper,  and 
only  way  of  publishing  it.  Few  of  these  are  works  of 
a  size  to  be  bound  independently ;  most  are  from  one 
page  to  one  hundred  pages  in  length. 

Class  B,  spurious  or  non-Congressional  Documents, 
originating  in  and  dealing  with  the  w^ork  of  the  various 
bodies  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment, or  occasionally  of  the  judicial  branch,  are  al- 
most all  of  a  size  to  bind  independently,  and  vary  from 
one  hundred  up  to  several  hundred  pages  or  a  number 
of  volumes  in  length.  These  have  come  out  in  print 
earlier  in  plain  title  edition ;  or,  in  a  few  cases,  will  so 
come  out  later ;  or,  if  not,  would  be  better  to  come  out  as 
plain  title  editions  than  as  House  or  Senate  Documents, 
being  of  sufficient  size,  specialized  subject,  and  of  pri- 
mary interest  each  to  its  own  department.  The  plain 
title  edition,  it  may  be  explained,  is  the  same  as 
the  department  or  bureau  edition,  and  is  often  called  by 
the  latter  name,  being  the  form  which  the  department  or 
bureau  insists  on  having  for  its  own  use  as  best  adapted 
for  a  working  copy.  Between  1907  and  1913  the  plain 
title  edition  sent  to  depositories  was  bound  in  khaki 
cloth  similar  to  that  used  for  the  Congressional  set,  but 
this  was  the  only  way  in  which  it  differed  from  the  de- 
partment edition.     It  is  at  present  bound  like  the  de- 

64  The  House  and  Senate  Manuals  might  be  issued  in  plain  title  without 
being  numbered  Documents,  as  has  been  done  with  the  Congressional  Di- 
rectory. So  might  also  the  memorial  addresses,  and  the  President's  mes- 
sages, of  both  of  which  a  plain  title  edition  is  printed.  The  same  can  be 
said  of  the  compilations  of  precedents,  Hinds's,  for  example,  in  eight  vol- 
umes (H.  Doc.  355,  59th  Congress,  2d  session),  and  of  contested  election 
cases.  But  it  does  not  hold  good  for  the  other  Documents  in  the  enumera- 
tion given  above. 


Why  Bewildering  77 

partment  edition.  The  fact  that  it  almost  invariably 
comes  out  ahead  of  the  Senate  or  House  Document  edi- 
tion gives  it  another  desirable  feature. 

The  results  of  this  reprinting  are  that  these  Senate  or 
House  Document  reprints  each  receive  now  a  title-page, 
a  number,  and  a  binding  and  binder's  title  for  the  series, 
which  are  more  conspicuous  than  the  title  of  the  actual 
work.  These  give  the  impression  that  here  is  a  differ- 
ent work  from  that  contained  in  the  plain  title  edition. 
Minute  collation  of  the  two  texts  is  required  to  estab- 
lish the  fact  that  in  most  cases  the  two  editions  are 
identical  in  contents.  A  typical  instance  is  the  follow- 
ing.^^ The  plain  title  edition  of  a  report  of  the  Indian 
Bureau  has  on  its  title-page:  Annual  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  1894.  Washington, 
Government  Printing  Office,  1895.  The  binder's  title  is: 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  The 
reprint,  which  is  a  House  Document,  has  on  its  first  title- 
page  :  The  Executive  Documents  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives for  the  Third  Session  of  the  Fifty-third 
Congress,  1894-1895.  In  35  Volumes.  Washington, 
Government  Printing  Office,  1895.  Following  this  is  an 
18-page  index  to  all  the  35  volumes.  Then  comes  a  sec- 
ond title-page :  53d  Congress,  3d  Session,  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, Executive  Document  i,  Part  5.  Report 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior;  Being  Part  of  the  ]\Ies- 
sage  and  Documents  Communicated  to  the  Two  Houses 
of  Congress  at  the  Beginning  of  the  3d  Session  of  the 
53d  Congress.  In  5  Volumes.  \'olume  II.  Washing- 
ton, Government  Printing  Office,  1894.  The  binder's 
title  is :  House  Executive  Documents,  3d  Session,  53d 
Congress,  1893-95.  Vol.  15.  Report  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior.  Vol.  2.  1894.  Indian  Affairs.  The 
text  of  the  two  editions  is  identical. 

The  series  number  and  voluming  which  these  reprints 
get  brings  them  into  the  numbered  chronological  ar- 
rangement of  the  Senate  or  the  House  series  of  Docu- 

55  Documents  Office,  Report,   1895/96,  p.   11. 


78  Why  Bewildering 

nients  —  according  as  each  is  placed.  This  arrange- 
ment, so  regardless  of  subject,  source,  extent,  or  impor- 
tance, is  good  for  the  mass  of  minor  publications,  as 
has  been  explained,  but  is  not  good  for  works  large 
enough  to  become  distinct  volumes  or  a  set  of  volumes; 
and  when  applied  to  a  mixture  of  both  minor  publica- 
tions and  bulky  voluminous  works  it  becomes  very  bad 
indeed.  It  works  worst  for  the  serials,  because,  in- 
stead of  the  annual  reports  or  the  bulletins  of  a  depart- 
ment being  in  a  file  with  all  the  issues  together  in  order 
of  year  or  number,  it  separates  the  annual  or  consecu- 
tively numbered  issues,  linking  together  in  one  group 
for  the  year  all  the  single  volumes  of  diverse  reports  or 
sets. 

Hearings  and  reports  on  the  public  printing  are  full 
of  the  evils  of  this  publishing  over  again,  in  a  series, 
works  which  exist  already  in  book  form  answering  ev- 
ery purpose.^"^  The  Documents  Office  from  its  estab- 
lishment till  today  has  steadily  preached  the  doctrine 
that  there  should  be  one  original  edition  of  any  gov- 
ernment publication  and  one  only,  and  for  department 
publications  that  should  be  the  plain  title  edition.^"     The 

50  U.  S.  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  Report,  1906,  v.  1:4-5,  12-17 
(Ricketts):  82-84  (superintendent  of  documents):  v.  2:523  (librarian  of 
Congress).  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  Supplemental  report,  1907 
(H.  Doc.  736,  and  identical  S.  Report  6828,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess.),  p.  8-10 
(Presented  resolution  of  March  1,  1907,  abolishing  reprinting  department 
publications  as  House  and  Senate  Documents.  One  of  the  strongest  and 
most  complete  statements  of  the  bad  effects  of  the  practice).  S.  Report  i, 
60th  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  p.  2  (This  presented  the  compromise  resolution  of 
Jan.  15,  1908,  restoring  the  reprinting,  but  providing  that  depository  libra- 
ries shall  receive  the  plain  title  edition).  S.  Report  1200.  6ist  Cong.,  3d 
sess.,  p.  16-17.  S.  Doc.  293,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  p.  17  (Superintendent  of 
documents  before  the  Economy  and  EiBciency  Commission).  H.  Report  816 
(p.  25-26)  and  almost  identical  S.  Report  201  (p.  21),  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
Reed  Smoot,  Speech  in  Senate,  March  12-13,  1912,  p.  12  (Claims  economies 
efTected,  especially  by  stopping  reprinting,  by  resolution  of  March  i,  1907). 
Hearings  before  H.  committee  on  printing,  62d  Cong.,  May  20,  22,  1912, 
p.  105  (Economies  include:  "  Elimination  of  Document  titles  from  annual 
and  serial  publications  specified").  See  also  Public  Libraries,  8:405-406, 
1903  (M.  Dewey  against  issue  of  publications  of  departments  in  collected 
Documents  series  as  exemplified  in  government  publications  of  New  York 
state). 

57  See  Documents  Office,  Report,  1894/s.  P-  16;  same,  1895/6,  p.  4-16; 
same,  1900/1,  p.  8-10;  same,  1901/2,  p.  6-9  (Recommends  "library  edition" 


Why  Bewildering  79 

American  Library  Association  urged  the  matter  till  it 
got  in  1907  the  plain  title  edition  for  depository  libra- 
ries, which  leaves,  however,  the  confused,  waste-pro- 
ducing system  still  rampant.^^  Reprinting  should  take 
place  only  when  that  original  edition  is  exhausted,  and 
should  be  like  the  original  in  form/^  While  the  three 
series  mentioned  were  in  existence  an  executive  report 
could,  and  certain  ones  did,  appear  in  four  editions  that 
were  due  solely  to  the  series  reprinting,  besides  other 
duplication  due  to  causes  that  will  be  described  later. 
The  evils  which  result  in  the  public  administration, 
and  the  inconveniences  which  arise  in  library  use  and 
practice,  especially  in  the  college  library  and  the  aver- 
age public  library,  from  the  mixture  of  Congressional 
and  non-Congressional  in  the  Documents  series  of  both 
houses,  may  be  summed  up  under  two  heads :  ( i )  the 
bibliographical;   and    (2)    the   economic. 

Reprinting  hihliographicaUy  had 

Bibliographically,  as  judged  by  standards  of  good 
publishing  methods,  these  two  series,  House  Documents 
and  Senate  Documents,  are  a  hodge-podge,  a  heteroge- 
neous jumble,  the  like  of  which  no  private  publisher  nor 
any  publishing  society  has  ever  issued.     The  most  all- 

of  annual  reports  and  other  department  publications);  same,  1903  4,  p.  5; 
same,   1904  5,  p.   5-7;   same,    1909   10,   p.   6-7. 

See  also  Monthly  Catalog,  Jan.,  1908,  p.  26^-272;  same,  Feb.,  1910,  p. 
27i-i7^;  same,  July,   1913,  p.   10. 

See  also  Document  Index,  60th  Cong.,   ist  sess.,   1907-8.  preface. 

See  also  testimony  of  superintendents  of  documents  as  follows: — Cran- 
dall:  Lib.  Jour.,  22:  160,  1897;  same,  25:65-67,  1900.  Ferrell:  Lib.  Jour., 
26:  671-674,  1901.  Donath:  A.  L.  A.  Papers  and  proceeds.,  191-',  p.  309. 
Wallace:    A.    L.    .\.    Papers   and    proceeds. ,    1913.    p.    3.S7-3.i8. 

58  See  among  many  expressions  of  this,  more  or  less  clearly  thought  out 
and  stated.  Lib.  Jour.,  ;:7:  C92-C96,  1902  (R.  P.  Falkner) :  same.  28:  C102- 
C106,  1903  (R.  P,  Falkner.  Both  the  preceding  ask  for  a  "library  edi- 
tion"); same,  32:207-208,  1907  (.W.  S.  Burns);  same,  35:3-28,  1910  (\. 
L.  A.  Council  adopts  resolution  against  reprinting  department  [lublications 
as  H.  and  S.  Docs.). 

The  non-depository  libraries,  in  common  with  individuals,  in  short,  every- 
body and  all  libraries  who  get  their  supply  through  members  of  Congress, 
receive   the    Document    edition. 

59  "  Separates,"  of  course,  or  the  reprinting  of  part  of  a  work  for  dis- 
tribution to  those  interested  in  that  part  only,  as  the  chapter  on  clay 
products  in  Mineral  Resources,  are  excepted,  being  necessary  and  useful. 


8o  Why  Bewildering 

embracing  series,  like  Bohn's  or  Everyman's  libraries, 
usually  make  groups,  such  as  classics,  science,  belles  let- 
tres,  etc.  And  the  great  national  academics  divide  up 
into  sections  which  issue  their  publications  separately. 
By  the  chronological  numbering,  as  has  been  explained, 
there  are  strung  together  Documents  large  and  small, 
ephemeral  and  standard,  highly  technical  and  trivial  — 
the  report  of  the  Immigration  Commission  in  forty-one 
volumes,  Hinds's  Precedents  in  eight  volumes,  the  Presi- 
dent's messages  on  vital  national  policies,  alternately  with 
the  findings  of  the  Court  of  Claims  in  the  case  of  John 
Jones,  or  a  report  of  examination  of  Fish  River,  Ala- 
bama, or  horse  claims  rejected  by  the  War  Department. 

This  heterogeneity  exists,  it  is  true,  among  the  House 
and  Senate  Documents  that  are  genuine  Congressional 
papers,  also  among  the  Reports  of  the  two  houses.  But 
for  both  of  these,  being  mostly  from  one  leaf  to  a  few 
pages  only,  nothing  better  than  the  chronological  sequence 
numbered  arrangement  can  be  devised.  The  non-Con- 
gressional publications  bulk  as  75%  of  the  Senate  and 
House  Documents,  though  in  number  of  titles  they  are 
only  20%  ;  they  are  mostly  large  works ;  they  are  special- 
ized in  subject,  coming  from  publishing  offices  each  of 
which  has  its  definite  and  restricted  field  of  action.  The 
removal  of  these  would  simplify  the  two  Documents 
series  and  reduce  the  evils  charged  against  them  from 
the  bibliographical  standpoint.  To  bring  these  series  up 
to  good  publishing  standards  elimination  should  not  stop 
with  reprints  of  department  editions  only.  Every  work 
important  in  subject  matter  and  large  enough  to  be  is- 
sued independently,  reports  of  Congressional  or  mixed 
commissions  especially,  should  be  published  as  an  inde- 
pendent work,  leaving  to  the  series  only  the  minor  pub- 
lications which  have  to  have  a  number  as  a  handle  by 
which  to  keep  track  of  them. 

If  any  one  is  inclined  to  make  light  of  this  mess,  let 
there  be  urged  further  the  effects  of  the  mix-up  in  vari- 
ous directions. 


Why  Bewildering  8i 

First,  to  the  public  it  is  genuinely  confusing.  The 
average  citizen  is  not  acquainted  with  the  various  bodies 
of  the  United  States  government,  but  he  knows  there  is 
legislative,  an  executive,  and  a  judicial  branch.  If, 
now,  one  could  say  to  him  —  here  are  all  the  publica- 
tions of  Congress  in  four  series,  contents  as  before  enu- 
merated (see  page  75),  making  all  together  what  is 
called  the  Congressional  set.  Outside  of  these  are  the 
separate  publications  of  the  ten  executive  departments, 
and  of  the  independent  offices  and  establishments,  and 
of  their  subordinate  bureaus,  and  also  of  the  various 
courts,  also  of  all  specially  organized  boards  or  commis- 
sions, only  one  edition  of  each  publication  —  then  clar- 
ity would  reign  and  difificulties  vanish.  He  would  only 
have  to  ask  whether  the  publishing  body  was  of  the 
legislative,  the  executive,  or  the  judicial  branch  to  know 
whether  the  work  was  in  the  Congressional  set  or  not. 

Second,  to  the  Documents  Office  the  numerous  edi- 
tions bring  increased  labor,  as  the  office  preserves  and 
catalogs  every  edition.  The  monotonous  repetition  of 
"  Same  "  in  the  Document  Catalog  is  due  to  the  multi- 
plication of  editions. 

Third,  when  several  editions  are  in  existence,  they 
may  be  mistaken  for  dififerent  works,  and  an  artificial 
demand  is  stimulated.  The  uninformed  student  will 
take  pains  to  get  each  separate  one,  only  to  find  in  dis- 
gust that  they  are  all  the  same.  The  librarian,  fearing 
to  reject  something  of  value,  as  only  collation  of  each 
with  the  others  will  prove  them  to  be  identical,  perhaps 
resolves  to  keep  every  edition.  But  to  cut  off  the  sup- 
ply of  duplicate  copies  has  been  one  of  the  avowed  ob- 
jects of  the  Printing  Investigation  Commission  and  its 
work.  To  reduce  the  supply  to  the  working  minimum, 
one  copy  or  edition  only  to  any  recipient  (except  extra 
copies  needed  for  actual  use)  is  a  necessary  first  step,  so 
the  commission  has  thought,  toward  learning  what  the 
demand  actually  is  on  which  to  base  the  size  of  edition 
to  be  ordered. 


82  Why  Bewildering 

Fourth,  to  pursue  further  the  bad  results  to  tlie  libra- 
ries of  reprinting  in  this  series,  they  may  be  expounded 
as  follows. 

Libraries  in  general  keep  their  books  in  groups  ac- 
cording to  their  subjects.  Though  this  entails  labor, 
the  claim  is  made  that  it  pays  in  economy  and  quickness 
of  service,  increased  convenience,  aid  to  the  memory, 
saving  of  steps  to  the  staff,  and  the  display  of  the 
library's  resources  on  any  topic  on  a  glance  at  the 
shelves.  The  subject  arrangement  is  supposed  to  ac- 
quaint the  reader  with  authorities  which  otherwise  he 
might  not  find,  and  to  stimulate  the  use  of  them.  But 
the  unexpurgated  Congressional  set  can  not  be  adjusted 
to  any  subject  arrangement  unless  its  volumes  be  scat- 
tered. Some  librarians  there  are  w'ho  carefully  exam- 
ine and  identify  the  various  editions  in  which  the  de- 
partmental publications  come  to  them.  They  class  in 
the  subject  place  one  edition,  preferring  the  plain  title 
edition,  but,  failing  that,  using  a  House  or  Senate  Docu- 
ment edition.  That  its  place  in  the  Congressional  set  is 
left  vacant  they  consider  immaterial.  They  discard  all 
other  editions.  This  practice  has  the  advantages  that 
the  subject  group  on  the  shelf  does  not  lack  the  govern- 
ment published  works  that  are  among  its  most  important 
material.  It  makes  the  government  publications  share 
all  the  benefits  claimed  for  subject  grouping.  And  it 
does  away  with  duplicates  except  where  extra  copies  are 
actually  needed. 

When  it  is  the  House  or  Senate  Document  edition 
that  must  be  used  in  the  subject  place,  the  disadvantages 
are  that  it  has  obtrusively  on  its  binding  a  series  title  and 
numbering  that  mislead  and  hide  the  actual  title  of  the 
work.  And,  in  a  depository  library,  the  series  of  Senate 
and  House  Documents  on  the  shelves  will  have  great 
gaps  in  their  numbers  which  may  represent  volumes  lost 
or  never  received,  or  only  removed  to  subject  place. 
Some  documents  are  there  and  others  dispersed  to 
various  places  to  which  their  subjects  took  them,  and 


Why  Bewildering  83 

no  one  knows  where  a  desired  voUime  will  be  found  till 
the  dummy  tells  the  tale  or  some  index  is  consulted. 

The  exclusion  from  these  two  series  of  all  the  spe- 
cialized department  works,  and  of  everything  except 
the  minor  Documents  which  can  be  cared  for  only  by 
numbering  and  gathering  into  volumes,  would  imme- 
diately remove  these  disadvantages.  This  end  is  at- 
tained by  the  issue  to  depository  libraries  since  1907 
of  department  publications  in  plain  title  editions  — 
since  19 13  in  the  department  cloth  binding.  And  it  has 
reduced  the  asking  for  duplicates  unless  the  use  requires 
them.  It  is  true  the  sorting  out  and  separating  of  de- 
partmental from  the  Congressional  has  not  been  done 
with  all  the  consistency  desirable,  but  errors  in  placing 
individual  works  possibly  would  be  corrected  on  peti- 
tion from  the  librarians. 

The  advantages  of  subject  placing  and  of  the  plain 
title  edition  were  recognized  in  a  decision  of  the  council  of 
the  American  Library  Association  of  ]\Iay  31,  1910.  By 
this  the  depository  libraries  are  advised  that  all  publica- 
tions listed  in  the  Schedule  of  Volumes  at  the  end  of  the 
Document  Indexes  in  light- faced  type  should  be  classed 
in  their  subject  places,  while  those  in  heavy-faced  type 
may  be  left  together  to  form  the  expurgated  or  genuine 
Congressional  set.  Owing  to  many  inconsistencies,""  as 
above  noted,  in  the  Schedule  of  Volumes,  the  rule  might 
be  modified  to  read:  class  under  subject  all  in  light- 
faced  type,  and  also  those  in  heavy-faced  type  that  are 
of  sufficient  size  or  importance  to  be  so  classed. 

If  a  depository  chooses  to  follow  a  course  contrary  to 
the  subject  placing  here  described,  and  tries  to  keep  its 
Congressional  set  intact  —  it  will  work  out  as  follows. 
For  every  Document  wanted  an  index  or  catalog  will 
have  to  be  consulted  first  to  find  its  serial  or  Document 
number.     Each  annual  report  of  a  department  up  to  1907 

60  One  instance  of  this  inconsistency  is  that  the  Index  to  the  Reports  of 
the  chief  of  engineers,  1866-1912  (H.  Doc.  740.  63d  Cong..  2d  sess.),  was 
sent  to  depository  libraries  in  the  Document  edition,  notwithstanding  that 
they   are   receiving  the   set  of  reports   in   plain   title  edition. 


84  Why  Bewildering 

will  be  separated  from  its  companion  reports  and  must 
be  found  separately  through  the  index.  The  reader 
using  the  shelves  will  miss  seeing  among  the  books  on  a 
subject  the  important  government  material,  and  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  it.  And  this  material  when  wanted 
will  have  to  be  brought  from  another  part  of  the  collec- 
tion by  an  attendant  or  the  reader  must  go  there  for  it. 
Or  perhaps  the  library  may  try  to  keep  its  Congressional 
set  complete  and  together,  and  in  addition  a  file  of  plain 
title  duplicates  in  the  subject  place.  This  is  no  less 
wasteful  of  shelf  room  than  it  is  of  government  print- 
ing. 

The  economic  arguments  which  follow  should  have 
weight  with  those,  if  any,  who  would  make  light  of  the 
preceding  bibliographical  ones.  Economically,  the  se- 
ries printing  and  reprinting  involve  large  waste  of 
money  in  administering  the  public  printing. 

Reprinting  economically  zvasteful 

Economic  waste  results  because,  first,  it  costs  more, 
of  course,  to  put  a  work  to  press  again  for  a  series  edi- 
tion than  to  print  the  needed  number  of  copies  all  at 
once  in  one  edition.^^  This  extra  expense  might  be 
deemed  negligible.     But  further  bad  results  follow. 

Waste  is  caused,  secondly,  by  the  fact  that  every  pub- 
lication included  in  the  four  series  of  Senate  and  House, 
if  under  loo  pages,  must  have  exactly  the  same  number 
of  copies  printed,  a  fixed  number  regulated  by  the  print- 
ing law  or  other  statute,  the  so-called  "  usual  number," 
no  more  and  no  less.*^^  The  law  provides  for  extra 
copies  in  some  cases,  mainly   for  works  over  the   loo- 

61  Here  is  not  meant  the  economy  of  printing  part  of  the  total  authorized 
by  statute  in  a  first  edition  estimated  to  meet  the  demand,  followed  by  a 
second  edition  if  called  for.  The  reissue  of  a  plain  title  work  in  a  series 
edition   is   meant   here. 

62  "  Under  that  law  [of  1895]  the  public  printer  is  compelled  arbitrarily 
to  print  a  stated  number  of  certain  documents  (including  such  as  have 
House  or  Senate  Document  numbers  on  them)  without  regard  to  their 
value  or  to  the  demand," —  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  Report, 
1906,.  V.  I,  p.  4  (Ricketts;  Oct.  26,  190s)- 


Why  Bewildering  85 

page  limit,  these  copies  being  usually  plain  title  edition. 
Also,  for  those  over  100  pages,  the  fixed  statutory  edi- 
tion has  been  modified  by  the  provisions  of  public  reso- 
lution 14  of  March  30,  1906.  According  to  this,  the  so- 
called  "  edition  plan,"  a  preliminary  estimate  may  be 
made  of  the  number  of  copies  needed,  and  only  so  many 
struck  ofif  as  a  first  print  or  edition,  a  second  edition  up 
to  the  total  of  the  statute  following  if  the  call  ex- 
ceeds the  first  number  printed.  Regulations  established 
by  the  Joint  Printing  Committee  May  18,  1906,  and  re- 
vised 1909  and  1913,  prescribe  for  129  publications 
the  number  of  copies  of  each  that  shall  be  put  to  press 
as  the  first  issue.  This  substitutes  another  rigid  fixed 
number  for  the  statutory  one,  but  is  withal  a  betterment. 
That  the  edition  of  the  yearly  report  of  the  sergeant-at- 
arms  of  the  Senate  on  receipts  from  sales  of  condemned 
property  should  be  as  numerous  as  the  brief  but  weighty 
report  of  191 1  of  the  Railroad  Securities  Commission;*^ 
or  that  there  should  be  as  many  copies  of  the  estimate 
for  an  appropriation  to  establish  certain  boundaries  in 
New  Mexico  as  of  the  report  of  the  Federal  Reserve 
Board,  seems  absurd.  But,  except  as  the  order  to  print 
or  the  statute  may  specify  extra  copies,  there  is  no  help 
for  it;  by  virtue  of  the  series  note,  the  indiscriminate 
fixed  rule  applies.  The  series  is  legislated  for  in  a 
bunch,  as  a  mob  of  books,  and  discrimination  as  to  treat- 
ment between  a  folder  and  a  41-volume  commission  re- 
port, between  a  work  for  propaganda  or  popular  in- 
struction and  one  for  service  use  only,  between  one  for 
scientific  or  technical  workers  and  a  popular  illustrated 
work,  is  difficult  and  awkward  to  arrange.  The  "  edi- 
tion plan  " ;  the  reduction  in  issues  of  the  Journals ;  the 
curtailment  of  copies  of  reports  on  private  bills  and  sim- 
ple and  concurrent  resolutions ;  the  shutting  off  of  print- 
ing the  "  members'  reserve  " —  all  these  are  stopgaps  to 
this  unavoidable   waste.     The  only  efifectual  remedy   is 

63  House   Document   256,   Sid   Congress,    2d   session.     44   pages.     Also   a 
plain  title  edition. 


86  Why  Bewildering 

that  put  through  by  the  Printing  Investigation  Commis- 
sion by  resolution  of  March  i,  1907,  so  unfortunately 
nullified  on  January  15,  1908  —  namely,  the  elimina- 
tion of  all  works  of  any  size  or  importance  from  the 
series  and  its  blanket  rule. 

Waste  occurs,  thirdly  (though  this  is  only  another 
phase  of  the  blanket  system  of  legislation  just  discussed) 
because  the  Congressional  set  is  given  out  to  recip- 
ients designated  by  statute  —  namely,  officials  and  offices 
of  the  government,  members  of  Congress,  depository 
libraries,  etc. —  as  a  unit.  Each  gets  every  publication  in 
the  set.  It  is  obvious  that  the  intent  in  supplying  these 
recipients  with  one  or  more  complete  sets  of  the  Con- 
gressional series  is  to  keep  them  informed  of  the  pub- 
lic business.  But  it  would  seem  that  a  report  of  in- 
vestigations on  the  mound  builders  made  by  the  Eth- 
nology Bureau  was  hardly  part  of  that  business,  and 
would  not  interest  most  of  the  department  officials  or 
members  of  Congress.  The  report  of  the  Treasurer  of 
the  United  States  on  the  sinking  fund  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  the  annual  report  of  the  assistant  attorney 
in  charge  of  Indian  depredation  claims  are  necessary  for 
routine  record,  but  do  not  seem  of  such  interest  that 
every  member  of  Congress  will  want  to  preserve  the  an- 
nual issues.  The  reports  of  the  tests  of  metals  and 
other  materials  made  at  the  Watertown  Arsenal,  the 
Memoirs  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  the 
Bulletins  of  the  Hygienic  Laboratory  are  scientific  and 
technical  researches  which  the  average  non-scientific 
reader  can  hardly  understand,  much  less  read  to  his 
profit.  Does  the  reprinting  of  these  benefit  either  the 
member  of  Congress  or  his  constituents?  Or,  if  only  re- 
ports are  made  Documents,  would  the  report  of  the  In- 
dian Afifairs  Office  or  of  the  Reclamation  Service  touch 
the  activities  of  the  representative  from  a  downtown  dis- 
trict of  New  York  city,  or  that  of  the  Ordnance  Bureau 
of  the  Navy  those  of  the  member  from  an  agricultural 
district  of  Kansas?     It  is  presumable  that  a  member  of 


Why  Bewildering  87 

Congress  may  wish  to  possess  and  have  at  hand  the 
papers  in  vvhicli  are  printed  the  actual  activities  of  Con- 
gress and  of  the  sessions  in  which  he  has  taken  part. 
But  to  load  upon  him  in  addition  numerous  reports  of 
administrative  bodies  or  of  scientific  or  technical  bureaus 
to  which  he  sustains  only  the  remotest  relations,®'  by  in- 
cluding them  in  the  Documents  of  Congress  sent  to  him, 
is  to  give  him  in  the  majority  of  cases  what  is  not  wanted, 
will  not  be  used,  and  so  is  total  waste.  Any  one  of  these 
reports  is  available  to  him  at  any  time  on  request  to  the 
department  that  issues  it.  And  the  necessity  of  every 
senator  and  representative  stocking  up  with  everything 
the  nation  publishes  in  order  to  keep  himself  informed 
should  not  now  be  so  necessary  since  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  Library  of  Congress  has  been  established 
expressly  to  supply  him  with  publications  and  informa- 
tion whenever  he  needs  them. 

The  fixed  quota  of  publications  assigned  to  each  mem- 
ber of  Congress  for  distribution,  and  the  remedy  for 
that  provided  in  the  new  bill  by  the  valuation  plan  have 
been  previously  discussed  in  the  section  on  Congressional 
distribution.  Also  they  do  not  belong  solely  to  the  Con- 
gressional set. 

Waste  and  abuses  arise,  fourthly,  because  in  an  over- 
loaded, encumbered  Congressional  set  the  individual  work 
gets  lost,  it  escapes  attention.  As  there  is  no  one  re- 
sponsible for  the  editing  of  the  set,  almost  anything  is 
possible  to  happen  in  it,  except  economy  and  system. 
Besides  accidental  waste,  there  is  always  danger  of  some 
publication,  useless  and  extravagant  or  serving  special 
interests,  being  foisted  upon  the  printing  appropriations 
under  cover  of  the  series  without  its  extent  and  expense 
being  suspected.  In  a  more  simple,  less  comprehensive 
set  these  would  not  escape  detection. 

It  is  the  problem  of  the  private  publisher,  on  which  de- 
pends his  commercial  success  or  failure,  to  ascertain  the 

64  See  U.  S.  Congress.  H.  of  R.  List  of  reports  to  be  made  to  Congress 
by  public  officers.  Dec.  4,  1916.  28  p.  (H.  Doc.  1407.  64th  Cong.,  2d 
sess.)     This  list  is  now   issued  each   session. 


88  Why  Bewildering 

actual  demand  for  every  publication,  and  to  adjust  the 
size  of  the  edition  to  it.  The  plain  title  edition  of  a 
work  can  be  printed  in  the  number  of  copies  estimated 
to  satisfy  the  demand,  and  can  be  sent  to  only  those  of- 
ficials, libraries,  and  individuals  who  want  it  and  will  use 
it.  Because  it  is  not  easy  to  make  this  adjustment  ex- 
actly and  simply,  even  under  the  edition  plan,  for  any- 
thing that  is  a  numbered  Document  of  Senate  or  House, 
it  follows  that  that  form  is  not  one  in  which  to  issue 
works  of  any  size  or  specialization.  The  reader  who 
wants  the  report  of  the  Children's  Bureau  is  liable  to 
get  it,  if  it  comes  in  a  Document  edition,  bound  in  one 
volume  with  a  number  of  Documents  he  does  not  want. 

Siiminary 

To  recapitulate :  —  The  bad  results  from  publishing 
department  and  other  independent  works  in  the  Con- 
gressional Documents  may  be  summed  up  as  follows, 
(i)  It  is  confusing  and  is  the"  cause  of  difficulty  in 
understanding  the  publications.  (2)  It  makes  the  set 
too  jumbled  and  heterogeneous  as  to  subjects  and  sizes. 
(3)  It  creates  extra  and  useless  labor  for  the  government 
catalogers.  (4)  It  makes  an  edition  not  suited  to  sub- 
ject arrangement  in  libraries  nor  to  keeping  files  of 
annual  reports  and  other  serials  together  in  order. 
(5)  It  is  an  edition  which,  further,  is  always  later  in 
coming  out  than  the  plain  title  edition.  (6)  It  increases 
the  demand  for  duplicates.  (7)  It  increases  expenses  of 
publication.  (8)  It  foils  effectually  efforts  to  learn  the 
actual  demand.  (9)  The  Document  edition  does  not 
adapt  itself  to  or  is  likely  to  evade  the  attempt  to  vary 
the  number  of  copies  printed  to  suit  the  demand.  (10) 
It  is  impossible  to  distribute  the  Documents  according  to 
their  subject  matter  and  the  want,  and  dumps  much  that 
is  not  wanted,  and  for  which  the  recipent  has  no  use, 
upon  both  Congressmen  and  the  public. 

If  it  be  asked:  how  did  the  reprinting  of  publications 


Why  Bewildering  8g 

of  executive  bodies  among  the  Congressional  Documents 
originate  and  what  caused  it?  —  it  may  be  said  that,  like 
the  distribution  of  the  national  publications  by  Congress, 
it  grew  up  and  dates  from  the  earliest  times.  Then  the 
little  that  Congress  published  was  the  total  output,  and 
the  voluminously  publishing  departments  and  bureaus  of 
the  present  day  were  many  of  them  not  even  in  existence. 
On  the  side  of  Congress  there  was  the  inducement  to 
extend  the  Congressional  dragnet  over  more  and 
more  publications  because  an  elusive  and  unheard-of 
publication  which  a  constituent  might  chance  to  claim 
from  a  busy  representative  was  sure,  if  a  Document,  to 
be  within  reach.  And,  to  the  departments,  until  the  law 
was  recently  changed,  there  was  the  inducement  that 
getting  a  publication  printed  as  a  Document  transferred 
the  whole  expense  of  its  printing  from  the  department's 
appropriation  upon  that  for  Congress.  By  public  resolu- 
tion 13  of  March  30,  1906,  the  department  now  pays 
from  its  own  appropriation,  for  any  work  originating 
with  it,  the  initial  expenses  of  publication  —  that  is,  com- 
position, stereotyping,  illustrations,  and  the  like ;  the  bal- 
ance of  the  cost,  however  —  for  press\vork,  paper,  bind- 
ing, etc. —  being  shared  by  Congress  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  copies  it  uses. 

What  are  the  advantages  of  the  system?  Aside  from 
precedent  and  habit,  they  are  simply  those  of  tying  a 
number  of  things  together  with  a  string.  The  things  are 
sure  to  be  all  there  when  you  untie  the  bundle,  none  lost. 
And  laws  can  be  made  as  to  how  many  bundles  shall  be 
printed,  and  how  the  bundles  shall  be  distributed,  with 
less  trouble  than  to  sort  out  all  the  things  in  the  bundle 
and  treat  each  on  its  merits.  But  now,  as  every  publica- 
tion is  listed  by  the  Documents  office  and,  if  non-Con- 
gressional, within  a  few  hours  or  a  few  days  of  its  com- 
ing off  the  press  is  given  its  individual  number  accord- 
ing to  the  Document  library  classification  system,  this 
makeshift  expedient  is  no  longer  needed. 


go  Why  Bewildering 

In  how  haphazard  a  way  it  is  all  managed,  and  of  how 
little  consequence  to  the  lawmakers  it  is  whether  a  publi- 
cation is  reprinted  as  a  Document  or  not  is  shown  by 
numerous  cases  of  works  that  have  either  never  been  in 
the  Documents  series,  or  have  been  some  years  in  and 
other  years  out,  without  any  one's  noticing  in  either 
case.*^^ 

It  has  been  the  avowed  object  of  Congress  on  certain 
recent  occasions  (the  child  labor  law  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  for  instance)  to  pass  a  model  law  for  territory 
where  it  has  jurisdiction  which  the  state  legislatures 
might  copy.  Here  among  the  official  publications,  which 
are  such  a  huge  item  in  the  budget  of  every  state  and 
municipality,  to  set  up  an  administration  and  methods 
Avhich  will  show  how  to  secure  economy  and  good  busi- 
ness management  among  them,  is  a  duty  and  an  oppor- 
tunity which  Congress  should  recognize  and  not  shirk. 

If  there  be  any  who  regret  the  passing  of  the  dragnet 
Congressional  series  in  its  fullest  redundancy,  reprints 
and  all,  in  spite  of  the  evils  in  its  train,  to  them  this  cold 
comfort  may  be  offered.  By  withdrawals  from  the 
set  in  many  cases  and  by  stoppage  of  distribution  in 
others,  as  described  under  our  fifth  topic,  the  set  is 
irretrievably  honeycombed  and  altered.  By  many  elimi- 
nations its  several  consecutive  numberings  have  now  be- 
come inconsecutive  and  broken.  The  ever  enlarging 
mass  of  United  States  official  literature  outside  of  the 
Congressional  series  makes  more  evident  every  day  the 

65  The  report  of  the  Supervising  Architect  since  1878  to  date  has  never 
been  printed  either  in  the  department  report  or  as  a  Document.  The  report 
of  the  Life-Saving  Service  from  1872  down  to  its  merger  (1915)  in  the 
Coast  Guard  was  never  a  part  of  the  department  report  except  once  (1876) 
nor  a  Document  except  in  that  case  and  once  again  individually  (1881). 
The  Public  Health  Service  report  has  been  in  the  department  report  only 
by  summary  and  is  not  there  even  in  that  form  now,  and  from  1872  to 
1903,  when  its  present  reprinting  as  a  Document  began,  it  was  only  once 
(1872)  so  printed.  The  American  Ephemeris  and  Nautical  Almanac,  tech- 
nical mathematical  tables,  was  a  Document  in  1886-1889,  and  again  in 
1896-1902,  but  is  no  longer  one.  The  report  of  the  Immigration  Bureau 
from  its  beginning  m  1892  has  been  a  Document  only  in  1903  and  1904, 
and  since  1904  as  a  part  of  the  department  report,  in  abridged  form.  The 
Checklist   will   show   many   other   like  cases. 


Why  Bewildering  91 

insufficiency  of  the  series  to  continue  to  fill  its  aforetime 
role  —  that  of  a  representative  gathering  of  the  most 
important  of  the  national  publications. 

jVIore  space  has  been  given  to  this  topic  because  Con- 
gress comes  and  goes,  but  the  Documents  problem  goes 
on  forever.  Official  Washington  of  today  knows  little 
of  what  its  predecessors  have  threshed  out  and  made 
plain  for  themselves.  The  idea  has  been  to  bring  to- 
gether here  for  permanent  reference  the  testimony  and 
facts  brought  out  in  the  most  recent  of  the  decennial 
printing  investigations.  Except  the  observations  on 
library  practice,  all  arguments  and  facts  have  been  drawn 
from  the  government  publications  themselves.  The  ap- 
plications to  library  practice  will,  it  is  thought,  appeal 
most  strongly  to  those  libraries  which  make  the  largest 
use  of  the  scientific  and  technical  and  other  specialized 
subject  publications;  not  so  much,  doubtless,  to  the  state 
library  and  the  document  department. 

7.  Reprinting  bureau  and  sub-officials'  reports 

Seventh,  reprinting  in  an  added  edition,  causing  con- 
fusion and  duplication,  is  done  also  in  another  way,  this 
time  in  the  administrative  reports  only.  It  arises  thus : 
Official  no.  i,  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  sends  a  writ- 
ten report  to  official  no.  2,  his  chief.  Official  no.  2  ap- 
pends said  report  to  his  own  report  made  to  official  no. 
3,  his  superior.  No.  3,  reporting  to  no.  4,  his  superior, 
includes  reports  of  nos.  i  and  2.  No.  4,  if  still  a  suljor- 
dinate,  makes  his  report  and  sends  along  those  of  i,  2, 
and  3,  as  part  of  it.  Examine  the  report  of  an  executive 
department  or  of  an  important  bureau  of  a  date  before 
1906.  There  will  be  found,  first,  the  few  brief  pages  of 
the  report  of  the  chief  officer  —  like  the  short,  swift  up- 
ward shoot  of  a  skyrocket,  expanding  at  its  end  into  a 
fiery  display  that  overspreads  the  whole  heavens ;  or,  in 
the  case  of  the  report,  into  a  concatenation  of  appended 
exhibits,  tables,  sub-reports,  and  sub-sub-reports  that 
swell  the  whole  to  a  bulky  volume.     As  the  total  aggre- 


92  Why  Bewildering 

gation  is  paged  continuously,  it  is  difficult  to  discover  the 
connection  and  relations  between  the  parts ;  or,  espe- 
cially if  bound  with  other  documents,  to  know  where  one 
ends  and  another  begins.  A  table  of  contents  or  index 
is  often  lacking,  sometimes  faulty. 

A  few  hints  may  help  the  tyro  in  public  documents 
through  any  such  tangle,  now,  happily,  almost  a  thing 
of  the  past.  The  Government  Printing  Office  uses  the 
sign  O  at  the  end  of  a  completed  publication  where  in 
old  books  one  sometimes  reads  Finis.  The  report  of  the 
chief  is  often  paged  with  roman  numerals,  the  appended 
papers  and  sub-reports  being  in  arabic  page  numbers. 
This  report  of  the  chief  discusses  or  summarizes  the  work 
of  each  sub-bureau  in  turn,  and  in  the  table  of  contents 
these  paragraphs  of  the  chief's  report  are  often  enu- 
merated in  prominent  type  under  the  names  of  the  bu- 
reaus. The  beginner  is  cautioned  not  to  mistake  these 
references  in  the  contents  as  meaning  the  report  itself 
of  the  bureau.  That  will  be  found,  probably,  further  on 
in  arabic  page  numbers.  It  is  sometimes  helpful  to  look 
for  the  signature  of  the  chief,  as  that  will  usually  be  at 
the  end  of  the  main  report  and  immediately  preceding 
the  appended  papers  and  sub-reports ;  but  sometimes  the 
report  is  not  made  up  in  this  way  and  this  resource  fails 
us.  Incidentally,  it  is  well  to  notice  the  address,  which 
stands  either  at  the  beginning,  or  at  the  end  of  the  chief's 
report  to  the  left  of  his  signature ;  very  infrequently  at 
the  end  of  the  volume.  This  shows  to  what  superior 
officer  or  body  —  Congress,  the  President,  or  a  depart- 
ment head  —  the  chief  is  required  by  law  to  make  his 
report.  But  sometimes  this  also  is  lacking.  Notice  also 
the  letter  or  letters  of  transmittal  at  the  front.  Note  to 
whom  the  report  is  transmitted,  by  whom,  and  from 
whom  as  the  original  author  or  compil-er,  and  any  other 
bits  of  information. 

Where  the  sub-reports  are  themselves  of  a  size  to 
make  one  or  more  volumes,  the  clumsiness  and  waste  of 
reprinting  them   with   the   superior  officer's   report   be- 


Why  Bewildering  93 

come  more  apparent.  It  is  the  policy  of  the  federal  ad- 
ministration to  group  all  activities  as  subordinate  bu- 
reaus under  a  few  comprehensive  departments,  rather 
than  to  multiply  small  independent  bodies.  The  de- 
partments of  the  Interior  and  the  Treasury  are  the  two 
on  which  have  been  saddled  in  the  past  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  miscellaneous  bureaus,  although  both  departments 
have  been  greatly  relieved  since  1903  by  the  transfer  of 
many  such  bureaus  to  the  present  departments  of  Com- 
merce and  of  Labor.  It  will  be  instructive  to  compare 
the  methods  of  these  two  departments  as  to  printing  the 
sub-reports  of  bureaus  under  them.  The  report  of  the 
Interior  Department  of  1900  consisted  of  sixteen  vol- 
umes, containing  reports  as  follows  :  — 

V.  I.  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  Land  Office 

V.  2.  Indian  Office 

V.  3.  Five  Civilized  Tribes  Commission,  etc. 

V.  4-5.       Miscellaneous 

V.  6-14.     Geological  Survey 

V.  15-16.  Education  Bureau 

Of  these  volumes  all  except  v.  3-5  are  reprints  of  sep- 
arate plain  title  or  bureau  editions  occupying  one  or 
more  entire  volumes.  Of  volume  3-5,  smaller  reports, 
each  or  most  of  them  were  also  issued  in  a  limited  edi- 
tion in  paper  covers. 

Contrast  the  Treasury  Department  report  for  the 
same  year.  It  is  in  one  volume,  and  includes  reports, 
summarized  or  without  appendixes,  of  only  five  bureaus, 
the  strictly  financial  ones.*^*^  Among  bureaus  omitted 
from  it,  to  name  only  those  now  belonging  to  the  depart- 
ment, are  the  reports  of  the  Coast  Guard,  of  the  Bureau 
of  Engraving  and  Printing,  the  Board  of  General  Ap- 
praisers, the  Public  Health  Service,  the  Supervising 
Architect,  and  others.  These  omitted  reports  all  have 
due  publication   in   separate    form,   and   are   distributed 

C6  These  five  included  reports  have  also  one  or  more  bureau  editions 
apiece,  in  addition  to  the  two  editions  (plain  title  and  House  Document) 
as  part  of  the  department  report,  these  last  two  in  brief  form  without  ap- 
pendixes,  it  is  true. 


94  Why  Bewildering 

separately  to  the  persons  needing  them,  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent and  distinct  set  of  persons  for  each  bureau.  The 
Treasury  Department  report  is  one  of  the  longest  series 
among  United  States  government  publications,  has  been 
continuous  since  1790,  and  has  regularly  been  only  one 
volume  or  less  in  size. 

The  advantages,  in  simplicity,  and  in  economy  in  dis- 
tribution, of  the  Treasury  Department  plan  of  detached 
publication  of  subordinate  reports  seem  self-evident. 
There  suggests  itself  the  practicability  as  well  as  desir- 
ability of  extending  this  method  into  every  department 
report ;  and  of  publishing  and  paging  independently,  in 
one  edition  only,  each  and  every  sub-report,  no  matter 
how  brief.  The  small  ones  could  all  be  bound  together 
in  order,  in  much  the  same  way  as  the  miscellaneous 
Documents  of  Senate  and  House  are,  or  any  set  of  bul- 
letins is,  to  make  the  combined  and  entire  file  of  reports 
of  the  department  and  its  bureaus.  The  report  of  the 
department  head  should,  of  course,  contain  a  statement 
of  the  subordinate  bureaus  whose  reports  for  the  year 
have  been  printed  to  accompany  its  own. 

To  make  clear  —  according  to  this  plan,  in  the  set  of 
Interior  Department  reports  before  described,  not  only 
would  V.  I,  2,  and  6-16  be  published  detached  and  in  the 
bureau  edition  only,  but  also  v.  3-5  would  be  composed 
of  separately  published  and  paged  reports  bound  into 
those  volumes.  As  a  fact,  and  as  the  Document  Catalog 
will  show,  all,  or  nearly  all  of  these  bureau  reports,  even 
of  only  a  few  pages,  are  printed  separately,  with  either 
separate  page  numbering  or  the  page  numbering  of  the 
department  report.  In  the  latter  case  the  Document 
Catalog  calls  them  "  separates."  In  either  form  they  are 
a  necessity  to  the  bureau  for  separate  distribution  to  its 
officers  and  others  interested. 

When  the  aggregation  described  above  as  the  report 
of  the  Interior  Department  is  again  reprinted  as  v.  26-41 
of  the  House  Documents  of  the  56th  Congress,  2d  ses- 


Why  Bewildering  95 

sion,  as  is  the  case,  the  evil  is  flagrant.  It  may  be  added 
that  the  full  department  edition  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment report  for  1900  filled  twenty-eight  volumes,  and 
was  reprinted  as  v,  2-2^  of  the  House  Documents  of  the 
same  Congress   (serial  numbers  4070-4097). 

In  accordance  with  the  executive  order  of  President 
Roosevelt  of  January  20,  1906,  and  various  laws  to  im- 
prove methods  of  publication  put  through  by  the  Print- 
ing Investigation  Commission  of  1905-1913.  and  since, 
the  reports  of  the  executive  departments  and  bureaus 
have  been  much  compressed,  shorn,  and  reduced  in  size, 
and  the  most  complicated  examples  are  before  that  time. 
But  the  plan  of  having  only  one  edition  of  each  sub- 
report,  the  bureau  edition,  separately  paged,  as  outlined 
above,  has  not  yet  been  tried. 

A  greater  number  of  reports  of  bureau  grade  have 
of  late  years  come  to  be  reprinted  in  the  Documents  series 
independently  and  outside  of  the  report  of  the  depart- 
ment. The  result  is  an  increase  in  duplicates  or  editions. 
The  report  of  the  Engineer  Department  is  a  bulky  ex- 
ample. Editions  printed  are  usually  :  —  ( i )  the  pamphlet 
report  of  the  chief  without  appendixes;  {2)  same  in  the 
plain  title  edition  of  the  department  report;  (3)  same  in 
the  Document  edition  of  the  department  report;  (4)  same 
with  appendixes,  separate  plain  title  bureau  edition;  (5) 
same.  Document  edition.  The  entries  in  the  Document 
Catalogue  do  not  show  (3).  Of  these  there  should  be 
abolished  (2),  (3)  and  (5). 

To  recapitulate  :  —  the  results  of  incorporating  sub-re- 
ports in  the  report  of  the  chief  are  (i)  confusion  —  the 
reprinting  of  the  text  of  each  as  many  times  and  in  as 
many  combinations  as  there  are  official  grades  between 
it  and  Congress;  (2)  waste  —  the  necessitated  distribu- 
tion to  those  who  want,  let  us  say,  the  report  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Alaska,  of  all  other  documents  between  the 
same  covers  and  in  continuous  paging  with  that ;  and  (3) 
disorder  —  users  of  the  publications  would  undoubtedly 


96  Why  Bewildering 

rather  have  all  the  annual  reports  of  the  governor  of 
Alaska  bound  together  in  the  order  of  years  in  one  vol- 
ume, than  the  reports  of  all  the  territorial  governors  for 
one  year  together. 


XII 

Since  1895:     The  Future 

By  the  printing  law  of  1895  it  was  doubtless  the  aim 
to  put  the  public  printing  on  a  sound  and  permanent 
basis  of  efficiency  and  economy ;  to  give  the  Government 
Printing  Office  effective  administrative  supervision;  to 
establish  good  methods  in  the  publishing  of  the  national 
literary  output;  to  provide  that  there  should  be  preser- 
vation of  the  national  publications  to  supply  public  needs 
in  well-distributed,  free  depository  libraries ;  to  central- 
ize distribution  whether  by  sale  or  gift ;  to  provide  the 
necessary  catalogs  and  indexes  to  keep  everybody  in- 
formed of  what  is  being  published ;  and  to  eliminate  all 
that  is  useless  and  excessive.  Under  the  various  sections 
attention  has  been  called  to  where  the  law  in  operation 
has  fallen  short  of  efifecting  all  these  results;  also  to 
opinions  of  experts  as  to  what  remains  to  be  done,  and 
in  what  directions  further  steps  should  be  taken.  A 
brief  review  of  the  events  of  the  twenty  years'  operation 
of  the  law  and  its  amendments  will  enable  the  reader 
to  judge  whether  these  statements  of  shortcomings  and 
these  counsels  are  just  and  reasonable. 

In  ten  years  from  1895  the  expenditures  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office  more  than  doubled,  increasing 
from  $3,473,780.92  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1895,  to 
$7,080,906.73  for  that  ending  June  30,  1904.  President 
Roosevelt,  in  his  annual  messages  for  1902,  1904,  and 
1905,  called  attention  to  this  rising  tide  of  cost,  which 
appeared  to  be  likely  to  continue  mounting  up. 

The  Committee  on  Department  Methods,  otherwise 
known  as  the  Keep  Commission,*^'  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  to  study  the  entire  administration  of  the 

67  The  members  were:  C.  H.  Keep,  assistant  secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
V.  H.  Hitchcock,  postmaster-general;  Lawrence  O.  Murray,  comptroller  of 
the  currency;  James  R.  Garfield,  secretary  of  the  Interior;  Gifford  Pinchot, 
head  of  the  Forestry  Bureau. 

97 


98  Since  1895:     The  Future 

national  government  at  Washington,  made  a  report  on 
the  pubHc  printing  January  2,  1906,  which  included 
among  its  principal  reconnnendations  the  following:  — 
lirst,  that  the  Government  Printing  Office  be  placed  un- 
der one  of  the  executive  departments,®^  thus  making  the 
public  printer,  as  an  administrative  officer,  responsible  to 
a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  to  whom,  with  the  President, 
the  country  has  entrusted  the  national  administration. 
It  has  been  shown  that,  owing  to  the  phenomenal  de- 
mands of  the  printing  of  Congress,  which,  during  its 
sessions,  must  always  be  served  first  and  with  a  rush, 
the  loss  by  Congress  of  its  close  connection  with  and 
control  over  the  Printing  Office  might  work  havoc ;  and 
that  a  permanent  board  of  directors,  on  which  should  be 
represented  both  Congress  and  the  publishing  offices, 
offers  a  better  solution  than  either  department  or  Con- 
gressional control  exclusively. 

A  second  recommendation  was  that  minor  matters  of 
"  form,  size,  style,  paper,  type,  make-up,  and  binding  " 
be  passed  upon  by  a  commission  on  bookmaking  to  con- 
sist of  the  librarian  of  Congress  as  chairman,  the  public 
printer  (perhaps  to  be  represented  by  the  superintendent 
of  documents?),  a  representative  of  the  department 
which  does  the  most  printing,  and  two  publishers  of 
large  experience  in  bookmaking  and  not  in  the  employ 
of  the  government.  At  present,  in  the  stage  to  which 
systematized  control  of  the  national  publishing  has  ad- 
vanced, it  is  shared  between,  first,  Congress  —  through 
the  printing  committees  of  both  houses  and  the  statutory 
powers  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing;  second,  the 
publishing  departments;  and  third,  the  Government 
Printing  Office. 

The  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  is  a  political  body 
of  changing  make-up,  whose  members  are  immersed  in 
the  great  American  game  of  politics.  Their  own  per- 
sonal and  political  fortunes,  the  interests  of  their  home 
localities,  and  great  national  problems  demand  their  at- 

68  The  Commerce  Department  was  the  one  designed  to  take  it. 


Since  1895:     The  Future  99 

tention.  Even  if  the  clerk  of  that  committee  is  long  in 
office  and  acquires  familiarity  with  the  details  of  the 
printing,  and  is  a  wise  and  tactful  executive,  it  still  is 
not  in  accordance  with  our  plan  of  government  that  a 
committee  clerk  should  exercise  control  over  a  great 
government  establishment  like  the  Government  Print- 
ing Office. 

As  for  the  departments,  each  is  pressed  and  overbur- 
dened with  its  own  special  work.  The  Government 
Printing  Office  itself  is  a  manufacturing  plant  for 
books,  not  a  publishing  house.  Each  of  these  three 
bodies  pulls  for  itself,  without  cooperation  or  adjust- 
ment of  the  system  as  a  whole. 

Section  74  of  the  new  printing  bill  provides  that  the 
public  printer  shall  consult  with  the  chiefs  of  the  divi- 
sions of  publications  which  the  bill  requires  that  the  de- 
partments shall  establish,  and  with  the  printing  clerks  of 
the  two  houses  of  Congress,  "  in  the  preparation  of  rules 
governing  the  forms  and  style  of  printing  and  binding  at 
the  Government  Printing  Office,  which  rules  shall  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Print- 
ing." Even  did  this  provision  amount  to  more  than 
securing  that  each  body  concerned  should  have  its  say  as 
to  "  forms  and  style,"  we  note  in  the  board  recommended 
by  the  Keep  Commission,  first,  the  expert  trained  in  bib- 
liography and  library  methods,  represented  by  the  libra- 
rian of  Congress ;  next,  the  experienced  publisher ;  and, 
last  but  not  least,  the  non-political  management.  It  is  to 
the  lack  of  this  kind  of  directorship  that  the  faults  in  our 
national  publishing  are  directly,  it  might  almost  be  said 
wholly,  due. 

To  this  proposed  board,  which  should  be  a  permanent 
body,  there  should  be  committed,  besides  matters  of 
publishing  methods  and  make-up,  also  the  ordinary  daily 
questions  as  to  size  of  edition,  reprints,  etc.,  and  as  to 
distribution,  with  investigating,  discretionary,  and  regu- 
lating powers  —  within  limits  —  such  as  the  public  serv- 
ice commissions  have.     It  should  have  authority  to  make 


100  Since  1895:     The  Future 

rulings  as  the  public  service  commissions  do.  The  han- 
dling of  these  matters  by  a  board  or  commission  would 
relieve  the  statutes  of  a  mass  of  detail,  and  would  put 
an  end  to  the  practical  absurdities  which  result  from 
enactments  rigid  and  the  same  for  all  kinds  of  publica- 
tions, for  all  circumstances  and  all  time.  It  would  suIj- 
stitute  that  elasticity  in  applying  a  system,  and  that 
adaptal>ility  and  exact  adjustment  which  a  private  pub- 
lisher must  use.  In  this  connection  there  may  be  sug- 
gested the  desirability  of  having  the  bibliographical  staff 
of  the  Documents  OfBce  represented  on  any  such  board 
of  editors,  as  they  have  more  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  national  publications  than  any  other  body  in  exist- 
ence. Of  course  it  is  understood  that  the  board  would 
have  no  authority  over  the  contents  of  the  works  passed 
upon,  and  would  not  dictate  to  any  branch  of  the  gov- 
ernment what  it  should  or  should  not  publish. 

Third  among  the  recommendations  of  the  Keep  Com- 
mission were  various  suggestions  for  condensing  and 
shortening  the  annual  administrative  reports,  such  as 
printing  in  summary,  not  in  full,  sub-reports  made  to  an 
office  below  the  department  rank;  excluding  text  of  laws, 
etc. ;  and  the  like. 

This  third  recommendation  was  made  efifective  by 
President  Roosevelt  —  who  took  a  lively  interest  in  reduc- 
ing the  riot  and  extravagance  which  he  believed  existed 
in  the  government  printing  —  in  an  executive  order  issued 
January  20,  1906.  He  cautioned  against  overloading  re- 
ports, and  formulated  directions  as  to  what  was  to  be 
omitted,  e.g.,  scientific  treatises ;  unnecessary  illustra- 
tions ;  non-ofiicial  contributions ;  reports  of  lower  grade 
officers  except  in  summary ;  laws ;  biographies  and  eulo- 
gies ;  personnel ;  tables  ;  specifications ;  lists  ;  etc.  The 
order  also  directed  the  establishment  in  each  of  the  ex- 
ecutive departments  of  an  "  advisory  committee  on  the 
subject  of  printing  and  publication  " ;  adding,  *'  And  at 
least  one  member  of  the  committee  shall  have  had  prac- 
tical experience  in  editing  and  printing."     On  June  25, 


Since  1895:     The  Future  loi 

1910,  the  Printing  Investigation  Commission  '^"  stated 
that  "  The  order  has  fallen  into  almost  disregard." 

True  to  precedent,  no  ten-year  period  to  be  without  its 
investigation,  in  the  deficiencies  appropriation  act  of 
March  3,  1905  (58th  Congress,  3d  session),  Congress 
gave  to  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  the  powers  of 
a  Printing  Investigation  Commission,  to  summon  wit- 
nesses and  make  inquiry  into  the  national  publishing,  and 
report  "  remedial  legislation,"  if,  in  their  judgment, 
needed.  Later  acts  continued  the  life  of  the  commis- 
sion and  extended  its  field  of  investigations,  so  that  for 
seven  years  it  was  actively  at  work,  during  the  59th, 
60th,  61  st  and  626.  Congresses,  expiring  with  the  latter 
Congress  on  the  4th  of  March,  1913.  According  to  Sen- 
ator Smoot,  the  expense  of  this  investigation  was  some- 
thing under  $35,000.'^ 

Its  recommended  "  remedial  legislation  "  is  the  print- 
ing bill  so  often  referred  to  in  these  pages.'"^  This  was 
framed  by  the  commission  and  first  introduced  in  the 
60th  Congress,  and  reported  on  in  both  houses  in  the  2d 
session,  in  February,  1909.  It  has  been  before  Congress 
ever  since,  has  been  progressively  much  amplified,  and 
has  undergone  much  modification.  At  date  of  writing 
it  has  not  become  law.  Further  hearings  on  the  bill 
have  been  held,  since  the  commission  expired,  by  the 
printing  committees  of  House  and  Senate.  This  bill,  as 
has  already  been  said,  is  a  codification  of  the  laws  ad- 
ministering the  Government  Printing  Office  and  Docu- 
ments Office,  and  the  printing,  binding,  and  distribution 
of  the  national  publications.  It  repeals  the  law  of  1895, 
superseding  that  and  the  various  enactments  which 
cluster  around  it.  It  is  greatly  needed  to  bring  together 
and  so  simplify  the  total  body  of  law  on  the  public  print- 
ing, now  much  scattered. 

But,  outside  of  this  general  bill,  which  includes  some 

69  See  its  report  of  that  date,  page  51. 

70  See  his  speech  in  the  Senate,  March  12-13,  1912;  or  Congressional 
Record  of  same  dates. 

71  See,  beyond,  Bibliography:  Printing  Investigation  Commission. 


103  Since  1895:     The  Future 

new  provisions,  the  conimission  has  secured  at  dilTcrent 
times  legislation  to  effect  urgent  special  economies  and 
reforms.  Among  these  are  the  two  laws  of  March  30, 
1906,  requiring  departments  to  pay  main  costs  of  their 
publications  which  are  Documents  of  Congress  (public 
resolution  13)  ;  ^-  and  for  the  "  edition  plan  "  of  issuing 
publications  (public  resolution  14)  ;  "^  also  the  law  of 
March  i,  1907,  for  a  number  of  details,  none  more  far- 
reaching  and  important  than  the  requirement  that  re- 
ports and  other  publications  of  departments  shall  not  be 
printed  as  Documents  of  Congress.'^* 

This  measure  from  the  beginning  was  judged  by  the 
commission  a  reform  most  necessary  of  enactment.  It 
became  law  without  opposition  on  March  i,  1907,  59th 
Congress.  It  was  repealed  on  January  15,  1908,  60th 
Congress.  The  substitute  measure  restored  the  Con- 
gressional series  as  before  for  members  and  officials  of 
Congress  in  Washington,  but  gave  department  publica- 
tions to  depository  libraries  in  a  plain  title  edition. 
Non-depository  libraries  and  persons  deriving  their  sup- 
ply from  members  of  Congress,  of  course,  get  the  Docu- 
ment edition.  This  retrogression  to  the  old  plan  for 
every  one  except  the  depository  libraries  was  done  on 
the  urgent  protest  of  the  officials  who  handle  the  books 
for  Congress  that  they  knew  of  no  way  to  handle  de- 
partment publications  if  they  did  not  have  series  num- 
bers on  them.  This  is  no  doubt  a  genuine  distress,  but 
with  the  remedy  near  at  hand,  as  the  same  difficulty  has 
been  met  and  solved  in  the  Documents  Office. 

Convinced  as  the  commission  was  by  overwhelming 
testimony  of  the  mischief  of  reprinting  department  pub- 
lications as  Documents,  and  having  demonstrated  by  the 
law  of  March  i,  1907,  the  approval  of  Congress  of  its 
stoppage  —  still,  in  framing  the  new  bill,  the  commission 
felt  under  compulsion  to  concede  something  to  these  old- 

72  Discussed  also  under  "Why  Bewildering":  topic  6,  p.  89. 

73  Discussed  also  under  Edition  and  Demand,  p.  50,  and  under  Why 
Bewildering:   topic   6,   p.    85. 

74  Discussed   also   under    "Why   Bewildering":    topic   5,   p.   71. 


Since  1895:     The  Future  103 

time  employes.  The  new  bill  provides  for  changing  the 
existing  way  of  dealing  with  department  publications, 
and  will  try  an  experiment  with  them.  It  may  fairly  be 
called  an  experiment,  as  it  is  a  way  never  tried  before, 
and  it  is  quite  uncertain  as  to  how  it  will  result.  It  is  a 
purely  compromise  measure. 

It  adopts  first  the  principle  so  often  and  from  so  many 
quarters  laid  down  as  an  axiom,  namely,  that  each  work 
shall  be  printed  in  one  edition  or  form  only.  Then,  as 
but  a  small  proportion  of  the  department  publications, 
excluding  the  scientific,  scholarly,  and  technical  ones,  are 
handled  by  the  libraries,  the  document  rooms,  and  the 
folding  rooms  of  Senate  and  House,  which  these  protest- 
ing officials  represent  —  especially  as  now  the  Library  of 
Congress  and  the  Documents  Office  supply  expert  as- 
sistance —  it  was  thought  that  these  officials  should  be 
content  with  some,  not  all  of  the  department  works. 
The  department  reports  are  now  restricted  to  adminis- 
trative business,  all  professional  papers  and  technical 
matters  being  put  into  other  publications  of  the  depart- 
ment. Therefore  the  bill  makes  an  arbitrary  distinc- 
tion —  in  this  class  it  puts  the  department  reports ;  in 
that,  all  other  publications  of  the  department.  The  re- 
ports are  to  be  printed  as  Documents.  All  other  depart- 
ment publications  are  to  be  printed  in  plain  title  form. 
This  distinction  is  justly  called  arbitrary,  because  the  ad- 
ministrative business  of  the  report  of  the  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  of  the  Standards  Bureau,  of  the  Naval 
Observatory,  the  Ordnance  Department,  and  of  many 
other  specialized  bureaus,  is  highly  technical ;  and  the 
classing  by  form  —  reports  on  this  side,  other  works  on 
that  —  is  on  a  faulty  basis,  and  does  not  efifect  the  divi- 
sion between  governmental  business  material  and  tech- 
nical material  that  is  sought.  And  although,  in  the  let- 
ter, the  bill  states  its  adherence  to  the  rule  of  one  form 
only  of  such  work,  yet,  as  the  Joint  Committee  on  Print- 
ing announces  that  the  library  copies  of  the  Document 
editions  of  annual  reports  will  be  bound  like  the  plain 


104  Since  1895:     The  Future 

title  edition,  there  will  still  be  two  editions  existing  of 
them.  And  as  to  uncertainty  of  result  —  whether  a 
protest  will  be  made  by  the  departments,  following  the 
discovery  that  they  are  being  robbed  of  their  department 
edition,  and  must  accept  the  Document  edition  with  the 
complications  that  hang  upon  anything  entangled  in  the 
Documents  series,  that  will  effect  a  restoration  of  their 
department  edition,  remains  to  be  seen. 

If  the  reports  of  "  more  than  400  "  ^^  government  bod- 
ies are  to  be  made  part  of  the  Congressional  series,  with 
no  department  edition  of  them,  there  will  be  introduced 
into  that  series  a  variability  as  to  size  of  edition  needed, 
and  as  to  distribution,  far  beyond  the  worst  that  was 
known  in  the  days  of  pre-bibliographical  reform,  and 
staggering  to  contemplate.  The  public  desiring  reports 
of  the  Agriculture  Department  and  the  Education  Bu- 
reau is  far  more  numerous  than,  and  not  at  all  the  same 
as  that  desiring  the  report  of  the  National  Home  for 
Disabled  Volunteer  Soldiers,  or  of  the  Treasurer  of  the 
United  States  on  the  sinking  fund  of  the  District  of 
Columbia;  or  of  the  Reclamation  Service;  or  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office ;  not  to  speak  of  the  scientific 
bureaus,  of  mines  and  fisheries,  the  Geological  Survey, 
etc.  It  is  true  that  the  edition  plan  can  be  applied  to 
these  as  Documents.  But  as  one  main  purpose  of  tying 
together  in  a  series  is  to  issue  in  a  fixed  number,  and 
supply  as  a  unit,  at  least  this  purpose  can  not  be  urged 
as  an  excuse  for  so  publishing  reports  so  diverse  and 
unconnected. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  commission  came  on  the 
subject  of  reprinting  is  well  stated  by  Senator  Smoot  in 
Senate  Report  414,  62d  Congress,  2d  session,  on  S.  4239 
(page  23).  "This  is  proposed  to  avoid  the  printing  of 
the  same  report  or  document  under  two  designations, 
which  will  operate  to  eliminate  the  distribution  of  the 

75  See  paper  by  G.  H.  Carter  in  American  Library  Association,  Papers 
and  proceedings,   191 6,  p.  310. 


Since  1895 :     The  Future  105 

same  report  twice  to  the  same  hbrary.  At  the  present 
time  this  duphcation  results  in  a  shameful  waste  of  gov- 
ernment publications,  and  is  also  very  confusing  to  the 
recipients  of  the  same."  Senator  Smoot's  comprehen- 
sive and  masterly  speech  in  the  Senate  on  March  12-13, 
1912  (Congressional  Record  48:3244-3254),  under  the 
heading,  "  Waste  of  Public  Documents,"  '^  states  the 
facts  brought  out  by  the  investigations  of  the  commission. 

The  abolition  of  the  "  members'  reserve  "  "'  by  law  of 
June  25,  1910,  is  the  last  to  be  mentioned  of  important 
single  reform  measures  prepared  and  passed  by  the 
Printing  Investigation  Commission. 

The  pending  general  printing  bill  re-enacts  all  these 
separate  measures  of  reform. 

Summary  of  reforms  needed 

The  fact  that,  throughout  the  whole  history  of  the 
present  system  of  administration  of  the  public  printing, 
within  so  short  a  period  as  ten  years  after  an  investiga- 
tion and  its  reform  measures,  similar  bad  conditions  al- 
ways recur,  forces  upon  us  the  question :  does  the  "  reme- 
dial legislation  "  go  to  the  root  of  matters  and  really 
remedy  ?  Or,  applying  it  to  the  draft  of  legislation  as  it 
stands  today:  does  the  proposed  bill  embody  a  full  pro- 
gram of  reorganization  which  will  make  impossible  the 
recurrence  of  bad  conditions  in  future?  Such  a  pro- 
gram of  reforms  —  to  gather  up  the  recommendations 
heretofore  made  and  present  them  as  a  whole  —  should 
include  the  following :  — 

Note. —  Those  double  starred  are  provided  for  in  the  bill; 
those  starred  the  bill  provides  imperfectly,  perhaps  in  some 
cases  taking  the  furthest  step  in  the  direction  of  reform  that  it 
is  possible  to  eflfect  at  present. 

(i)  The  management  of  the  Government  Printing 
Office  by  a  board  of  directors  representing  all  interests, 
with  continuity  of  service  and  freedom  from  political  in- 

76  Pages  43-46  of  separately  printed  speech. 

77  Discussed  also   under  Edition  and  Demand,   p.  49. 


io6  Since  1895:     The  Future 

terference  for  both  board  and  pubHc  printer,  so  that 
they  may  give  it  the  same  business  management  and 
efficiency  that  a  private  firm  has. 

(2)  The  estabhshment  under  these  directors  of  an 
editorial  board  or  officer  of  bibhographical  education 
and  experience  who  shall  have  discretionary  powers  for 
each  publication  and  in  general  to  settle  minor  matters 
of  style  and  materials,  publishing  methods,  size  of  edi- 
tions, reprinting,  and  supply  and  demand,  which  de- 
tails shall  then  be  omitted  from  the  statutes. 

(3)*  The  selection,  as  a  Presidential  appointee,  of  the 
superintendent  of  documents  from  among  the  ranks  of 
the  librarians ;  or  the  requirement  in  the  appointee  of 
the  same  literary  and  bibliographical  acquirements  com- 
bined with  administrative  capacity  as  the  librarian  of  the 
large  public  library  must  possess.'^ 

Or  else  —  the  transference  of  the  cataloging  and  bib- 
liographical work  of  the  Documents  Office  to  the  Library 
of  Congress. 

(4)  The  separation  of  the  publications  of  the  execu- 
tive and  judicial  branches  of  the  national  government 
from  those  of  Congress.  The  publishing  of  each  work 
of  any  size  or  importance  independently  of  any  series 
and  in  only  one  original  form  or  edition.  That  to  be 
the  plain  title  department  edition  for  everything  orig- 
inating in  the  departments,  the  Congressional  series  edi- 
tion for  such  only  as  originate  in  the  sessions  of  Con- 
gress.'^^ 

(5)  The  abolition  of  free  distribution  by  members  of 
Congress. ^°  Free  distribution  to  individuals  to  be  re- 
stricted to  that  made  for  cause  by  the  publishing  office. 

78  The  bill  makes  the  superintendent  of  documents  a  Presidential  ap- 
pointee. He  is  now  appointed  by  the  public  printer,  and  must  take  a  civil 
service  examination,  which,  as  events  show,  does  not  prevent  too  frequent 
changes  in  the  position. 

79  Provisions  for  publication  in  one  edition  only  are  in  various  sections 
of  the  present  bill,  but  the  one  edition  for  department  reports  is  the  Con- 
gressional   Document   edition. 

SO  The  bill  provides  the  valuation  system  of  distribution  by  members  of 
Congress,  as  a  step  toward  ceasing  free  distribution  to  individuals.  The 
provision   for  valuation  distribution  should  be  thrown  open  to  cover  every- 


Since  1895:     The  Future  107 

Libraries  to  receive  publications  free  on  application. 
Their  supply  to  be  through  the  Documents  Office  solely. 
Provision  to  be  made  that  not  depositories  only,  but  ev- 
ery library  open  to  the  public  may  have  "  just  what  it 
wants,  nothing  more,  nothing  less,  and  all  from  one  cen- 
tral office."  All  other  distribution  to  be  on  a  sales  basis, 
and  all  sales  to  be  centralized  in  the  Documents  Office. 

(6)**  Depository  libraries  once  designated  to  be  per- 
manently such.  Designation  to  be  made  by  the  Docu- 
ments Office. 

(7)  Provision  that  the  index  to  the  Congressional 
Record  be  made  by  the  trained  indexers  of  the  Docu- 
ments Office :  or  at  least  by  some  person  who  knows 
what  scientific  cataloging  is.*^ 

(8)*  Supply  of  the  Congressional  Record  to  libraries 
by  the  Documents  Office. *- 

(9)*  Supply  of  hearings  and  other  publications  of 
committees  to  libraries  regularly  or  on  request. ^■'' 

(10)  Arrangements  for  a  bill  depository,  preferably  in 
the  Documents  Office,  where  pending  public  (not  pri- 
vate) bills  shall  be  kept  for  a  certain  length  of  time  to 
supply  demands  from  libraries,  debating  clubs,  etc. 

thing  published  in  which  the  public  and  Congress  are  allowed  to  share.  See 
discussion   under   Distribution,   p.    59. 

SI  The  bill  provides  that  the  daily  Record  shall  have  in  future  a  table  of 
contents.  With  good  subject  indexing  a  table  of  contents  would  be  much 
less  needed. 

»2  Now  by  Congressional  distribution.  The  bill  provides  that  depository 
libraries  shall  in  future  receive  it  from  the  Documents  Office.  This  distri- 
bution  should  be  extended  to  all   libraries  that  request  it. 

83  The  bill  provides  that  depositories  shall  receive  them  from  the  Docu- 
ments Office. 


XIII 

Government  Organization  and  Terminology 

In  a  preceding  paragraph  it  has  been  said  that  to 
handle  public  documents  one  must  think  in  terms  of  gov- 
ernment bodies.  As  a  help  towards  this  there  are  given 
here  a  few  elementary  remarks  on  the  organization  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  and  the  titles  of  its 
various  bodies.  Lists  of  these  bodies,  showing  their 
grades  and  relations  and  the  departments  to  which  at- 
tached, may  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Document  Cata- 
logs (restricted  to  those  which  have  published  some 
work  during  the  period  covered  by  the  special  volume)  ; 
also  a  consolidated  list  is  published  separately,^*  with  title, 
Author  Headings  for  United  States  Public  Documents, 
with  the  same  restrictions.  Care  should  be  taken  to 
keep  every  edition  of  this  list,  as  all  together  make  a 
progressive  table  of  the  organization  of  the  government. 
Lists  may  be  found  also  in  Everhart,®^  down  to  1909, 
with,  under  each,  a  slight  history  and  description  of  its 
functions  and  publications ;  and  in  the  Checklist,  through 
1909,  with  history  and  publications  (but  those  now  non- 
existent not  separated  from  the  present  ones).  Later 
lists  are  in  the  table  of  contents  of  the  biennial  Official 
Register,^''  a  good  bird's-eye  view  of  the  present  organi- 
zation ;  recent  issues  2specially  good  for  temporary  com- 
missions and  boards ;  and,  latest  of  all,  in  the  Congres- 
sional Directory,*^  this  being  not  exhaustive  as  a  list, 
but  giving  also  duties  of  each.  The  last  two  give  also 
personnel. 

84  See  Checklist,  p.  416;   GP3.3:4  and  GP3.3:g,  « 

85  E.  Everhart,  Handbook  of  United  States  public  documents.  Minne- 
apolis, Wilson,  19 10. 

86  See  Checklist,  p.  321;  C3.10. 

87  See  Checklist,  p.   1616-1621. 

108 


Government  Organization  and  Terminology       109 

Of  the  three  coordinate  branches  of  our  government, 
legislative,  executive,  and  judicial,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  the  last  includes  the  judges  only.  The  executive 
officials  of  the  courts  —  the  attorneys,  clerks,  marshals, 
and  commissioners  —  the  administration  of  the  prisons, 
etc.,  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Department  of 
Justice,  which  is  one  of  the  ten  executive  departments. 

The  publications  of  the  federal  courts,  being  strictly 
legal  matter,  and  most  of  them  not  printed  nor  distrib- 
uted by  the  government,  but  published  and  sold  pri- 
vately, are  given  no  consideration  in  this  work.  In  the 
Checklist  and  Document  Catalog  entry  for  all  that  are 
government  publications  will  be  found.  In  regard  to 
lawsuits  in  which  the  government  is  a  party,  the  prose- 
cutions of  trusts,  etc.,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  only 
the  opinions  of  the  court  and  the  briefs,  etc.,  of  the  at- 
torneys for  the  government  are  official,  those  prepared 
by  the  attorneys  of  the  corporation  being  non-official 
and  private. 

No  further  allusion  will  be  made  to  the  publications 
of  the  judicial  branch. 

The  legislative  branch  consists  of  Congress  and  its 
employes.  Some  bodies  of  the  executive  branch,  the 
Treasury  Department  among  others,  report  directly  to 
Congress,  although  their  heads  are  appointed  by  the 
chief  of  the  executive  branch,  the  President.  Also,  the 
three  administrative  establishments  —  the  Botanic  Garden, 
the  Library  of  Congress,  and  the  Government  Printing 
Office  —  which  are  under  Congress,  are  to  be  regarded, 
not  as  legislative,  but  as  part  of  the  executive  machinery 
of  the  United  States.  Over  the  first  two  it  exercises 
supervision  through  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  Library, 
which  differs  from  other  standing  committees  by  being  a 
statutory  body,  that  is,  one  whose  existence  is  made  ob- 
ligatory and  its  duties  defined  by  statute.  The  adminis- 
tration of  the  latter,  as  has  been  said,  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  which  has  similar 
status. 


no       Government  Organization  and  Terminology 

Congress  handles  its  business  by  means  of  committees. 
We  hear  of  standing,  select,  joint,  and  conference  com- 
mittees, also  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  and 
the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  State  of  the 
Union.  A  standing  committee  is  one  existing  accord- 
ing to  the  standing  rules  of  either  house,  and  in  perma- 
nent charge  of  certain  specified  subjects  of  proposed 
legislation.  Most  of  the  committees  of  Congress  are  of 
this  class.  A  select  committee  is  one  specially  appointed 
to  consider  some  special  question.  A  joint  committee  is 
one  made  up  of  members  from  both  houses.  A  full 
list  of  standing  and  select  committees  of  both  houses  may 
be  found  in  the  Congressional  Directory.  Changes  may 
occur  in  either  class,  though  the  majority  of  the  stand- 
ing committees  runs  on  from  Congress  to  Congress  with- 
out change.  A  conference  committee  is  always  a  select 
and  a  joint  committee,  and  is  appointed  to  adjust  differ- 
ences between  the  two  houses,  going  out  of  existence 
when  it  has  reported  —  to  each  house  separately  through 
its  members  on  the  committee  —  the  results  of  the  confer- 
ence. The  Committee  of  the  Whole  and  the  Committee 
of  the  Whole  House  on  the  State  of  the  Union  are  not 
committees  at  all,  but  a  parliamentary  device  by  which  a 
deliberative  body  changes  its  rules  temporarily  to  facili- 
tate business.  The  usual  phrase  is,  the  House  (or  Sen- 
ate) goes  into  Committee  of  the  Whole. 

There  are  also  various  bodies  sometimes  called  com- 
mittees, more  often  called  commissions,  or  occasionally 
boards,  created  by  Congress  for  some  special  and  tem- 
porary purpose,  and  including  frequently  among  their 
members  others  than  senators  and  representatives  —  ex- 
perts on  the  subject  in  hand,  or  representing  the  inter- 
ests of  special  classes  of  the  public.  The  purpose  of 
one  of  these  may  be  of  mixed  nature,  including  some- 
thing of  the  judicial  or  administrative ;  but  most  often  it 
is  one  of  investigation  or  inquiry  into  facts  to  lay  before 
Congress,  or  the  President,  or  other  head.  Such  are 
the   Naval    Consulting   Board,    the   Tariff    Commission, 


Government  Organization  and  Terminology       iii 

the  National  Advisory  Committee  for  Aeronautics,  the 
Railroad  Securities  Commission,  the  Printing  Investiga- 
tion Commission,  and  many  others.  New  bodies  for 
war  needs  have  been  recently  created,  many  with  large 
executive  functions,  and  among  these  are  found  other 
titles,  as  National  Defense  Council,  Emergency  Fleet 
Corporation,  Food  Administration,  etc.  But  we  need 
give  these  no  special  consideration.  The  status  of  each 
particular  committee  (non-Congressional),  commission, 
or  board,  as  to  permanency,  membership,  to  whom  re- 
porting, etc.,  is  a  matter  to  be  inquired  into  separately 
for  each,  as  many  bodies  so  entitled  are  fixed  parts  of 
the  government. ^^  But  this  kind  of  a  committee  or 
commission  does  not  usually  speak  by  its  chairman  or 
other  members  on  the  floor  of  Congress ;  nor  are  bills  re- 
ferred to  it  for  report,  although  it  often  shapes  and 
recommends  a  bill  or  bills  which  are  introduced  into 
Congress  through  the  usual  channels.  The  report  made 
by  the  commission  ordinarily  goes  to  Congress  in  the 
same  way  that  an  executive  report  does,  and  appears  in 
the  Congressional  set  as  a  House  or  Senate  Document, 
not  Report.  The  latest  issue  of  the  biennial  Ofificial 
Register  will  give  a  convenient  list  of  these  commissions 
existing  during  the  two  years  covered  by  the  issue. 
When  the  Reports  of  Congress  are  spoken  of,  the  re- 
ports of  these  commissions  are  not  included. 

We  come  now  to  the  executive  or  administrative 
branch  of  the  government,  organized  into  bodies  over- 
whelmingly more  numerous  and  diversified  than  any- 
thing the  legislative  branch  has  to  show. 

In  the  flying  notice  that  we  are  about  to  give  to  these 
bodies  the  first  fact  to  be  grasped  is  that  they  are  not 
standardized ;  variability  is  much  in  evidence  and  the 
terminology  even  of  the  statutes  creating  them  is  often 
not  uniform;  so  that  the  most  striking  thing  about  any 
general  statement   is   that   it  has   numerous   exceptions. 

88  The  General  Supply  Committee  in  the  Treasury  department,  and  the 
Philippine  Committee  on  Geographical  Names  are  instances  of  permanent 
committees  equivalent  to   bureaus  or  boards. 


112       Government  Organization  and  Terminology 

This  being  premised,  we  may  consider  the  terms:  de- 
partment, bureau,  office,  division,  section,  board,  com- 
mission, survey,. and  service,  which  we  meet  constantly. 
Of  these  the  first  five  are  the  usual  terms  in  the  order 
given  for  the  successive  grades  of  permanent  botlies  per- 
forming routine  administrative  work,  bureau  and  office 
being  regarded  as  of  the  same  grade,  and  used  inter- 
changeably. Thus,  under  any  department  may  be  many 
bureaus  or  offices.  Under  any  bureau  may  be  a  divi- 
sion ;  or  sometimes  a  body  directly  under  the  depart- 
ment, but  minor  in  function,  may  be  termed  a  division. 
If  a  further  specialization  in  organization  under  a  divi- 
sion is  needed  it  may  be  called  a  section.  The  War  De- 
partment, however,  stands  alone  in  using  the  term  de- 
partment for  most  of  its  important  bureaus,  e.g.,  the 
Ordnance  Department,  the  Medical  Department,  etc.  It 
gives  the  same  title  to  the  territorial  divisions  of  the 
army,  as  the  Eastern  Department,  the  Hawaiian  Depart- 
ment, etc. 

Commission  and  board  and,  less  often,  committee,  are 
most  often  applied  to  more  detached  and  independent, 
often  temporary  bodies,  charged  with  special,  sometimes 
expert  work.  Survey  attaches  to  a  body  employed  in 
geodetic,  geographical,  or  hydrographic  work,  naviga- 
tion, exploration,  or  the  like.  Service  denotes  a  body 
of  employes  in  most  cases  distributed  all  over  the  coun- 
try, as  the  States  Relations  Service,  formerly  the  Ex- 
periment Stations  Office ;  the  Customs  Service ;  the  For- 
estry Service,  etc.  System  is  used  in  the  sole  case  of 
the  Postal  Savings  System. 

The  term  report,  as  used  in  the  executive,  the  legisla- 
tive, and  the  judicial  branches  of  the  government,  desig- 
nates works  entirely  different  from  each  other.  A  re- 
port from  a  body  which  has  administrative  functions, 
like  the  Department  of  Agriculture  or  the  Bureau  of 
Education,  is  an  account  of  work  done  during  the  period 
covered,  with  recommendations  for  future  activities.     As 


Government  Organization  and  Terminology       113 

to  render  a  concise  statement  requires  care,  it  is  due  to 
the  lack  of  it  that  some  reports  are  overladen  with  ill- 
digested  statistics  and  details,  repeating  in  one  place 
what  is  already  in  print  in  another,  or  even  the  same 
volume.  Also,  there  tend  constantly  to  creep  in  be- 
tween the  covers  of  a  report  informational  or  research 
special  papers.  The  temptation  is  strong  to  give  the 
pubHc  this  helpful  material  under  cover  of  the  appropria- 
tion for  printing  the  annual  report.  This,  as  said  before, 
has  been,  for  the  present,  at  least,  sternly  ruled  out,  and 
research  papers  relegated  to  separate  series  of  bulletins, 
monographs,  and  the  like. 

A  report  from  the  legislative  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment is  an  entirely  different  kind  of  work.  It  comes, 
not  from  Congress  as  a  whole,  but  from  a  committee  to 
which  that  body  has  delegated  responsibility  for  recom- 
mending legislation  on  a  specific  subject.  It  is  not  an 
account  of  work  done,  but  of  investigations  and  conclu- 
sions arrived  at.  Its  subject  matter  is  a  constructive 
measure  of  legislation  which  it  recommends  to  Con- 
gress for  passage  or  rejection. 

The  judicial  report  is  again  quite  another  thing.  In- 
cidentally it  may  be  remarked  that  it  would  be  in  the 
interests  of  definiteness  in  the  use  of  terms  if  the  reports 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  of  all  other  courts,  state  or 
federal,  could  have  their  title  changed  to  "  Opinions  "  or 
"  Decisions  "  of  the  court.  In  this  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  has  set  a  wise  precedent.  The  judi- 
cial report  consists  namely  of  the  opinion  of  the  court 
with  a  brief  statement  of  the  case.  So  the  reports  of  the 
national  Court  of  Claims,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  etc.,  are  not  like  either  of  the  former  two,  execu- 
tive or  legislative.  The  dift'erence  in  the  kind  of  work 
called  indiscriminately  a  report,  as  published  by  these 
three  different  branches  of  the  government,  should  be 
borne  in  mind  as  the  United  States  publications  are 
examined. 


114      Government  Organization  and  Terminology 

Of  the  so-called  executive  (Jei)artments*'''*  there  are 
since  1913  ten,  namely,  the  departments  of  Agriculture, 
Commerce,  Interior,  Justice,  Labor,  Xavy,  Post-Office, 
State,  Treasury,  and  War  The  head  of  each  is  called 
secretary,  except  of  the  Post-Office  Department,  headed 
by  the  postmaster-general,  and  the  Department  of  Jus- 
tice, by  the  attorney-general.  Together  these  heads  of 
executive  departments  form  the  President's  cabinet,  or 
official  advisers  and  agents  for  carrying  out  his  policies, 
corresponding  to  the  ministry  in  most  Euro])ean  coun- 
tries. The  ten  departments  do  not  make  the  sum  total 
of  bodies  of  the  executive  branch.  There  are  bodies  in- 
dependent of  them,  some  of  the  most  important  being 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  the  Civil  Service 
Commission,  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  the  Federal 
Reserve  Board,  the  Federal  Trade  Commission,  and 
others  that  will  suggest  themselves.  It  may  be  noted 
that  many  a  subordinate  bureau  is  better  known  and 
more  important  to  the  general  public  than  the  depart- 
ment it  is  under. 

89  The  new  printing  bill  uses  throughout  the  expression,  "  Departments, 
independent  offices,  and  establishments";  also,  when  greater  inclusiveness 
is  intended,  "  Committee,  commission,  office,  department,  or  establishment 
of  the  government." 


XIV 

Things  to  be  Noticed 

Certain  things  which  it  is  well  to  notice  in  a  govern- 
ment publication  have  been  already  mentioned :  —  the 
mark  O  for  finis;  the  signature  at  end  of  a  report;  the 
address  at  beginning  or  end  ;  the  letter  or  letters  of  trans- 
mittal, etc.  Sometimes  the  seal  of  the  publishing  body  on 
the  title-page  gives  information  lacking  in  the  words  of 
the  title.  In  the  Congressional  publications  is  occasion- 
ally seen  an  asterisk  in  the  margin  at  the  foot  of  the 
first  page.  This  indicates  a  corrected  print  struck  off  to 
replace  a  first  print  in  which  an  error  occurred. 

Some  publications  have,  usually  on  the  reverse  of  the 
title-page,  the  words,  "  Treasury  Department  document 
number  so-and-so,"  "  War  Department  document  num- 
ber so-and-so,"  or  the  same  expression  with  the  name 
of  some  other  bureau  or  department  substituted.  This  is 
often  a  help  in  ascertaining  the  administrative  body  which 
is  the  responsible  author  of  the  work,  although  it  can  not 
be  depended  on  to  fix  the  final  decision.  It  should  be 
included  in  the  catalog  entry,  as  it  will  be  found  occasion- 
ally a  helpful  item  in  identifying  or  correlating  two  or 
more  documents.  The  words,  "  Whole  number  so-and- 
so,"  or  some  equivalent,  or  simply  a  detached  number, 
usually  in  the  hundreds,  are  seen  on  some  bulletins,  etc., 
at  the  extreme  top  of  cover  or  title-page,  or  in  another 
place.  This  is  not  so  necessary  to  include  in  the  catalog 
entry.  Both  this  and  the  department  or  bureau  docu- 
ment number  serve  a  purpose,  usually  that  of  identifica- 
tion and  consecutive  file  number  in  the  office  which  issues 
the  publication.  But  with  neither  set  of  numbers  will 
it  be  advisable  to  try  to  check  off  or  keep  count  of 
them  to  see  if  all  are  received;  for  one  reason,  because 

"5 


ii6  Things  to  be  Noticed 

the  file  may  inchide  confidential  material  or  office  blanks 
and  forms,  etc.  Neither  is  a  series  entry  needed  under, 
e.g..  "  U.  S.  Treasury  Department  document "  or  "  U.  S. 
Education  Bureau.     Whole  number." 


PART  II 

Legislative  Publications 


I 

General 

Congress,  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government,  is 
charged  with  giving,  in  the  form  of  statute  law,  the  orders 
which  create  and  keep  in  motion  the  total  machinery  of 
the  federal  government.  This  excludes,  of  course,  all 
matters  regulated  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
as  well  as  all  which  are  entrusted  to  the  sovereign  states 
to  regulate  for  themselves  according  to  their  own  state 
constitutions  and  the  laws  which  the  state  legislatures 
make  for  them. 

Of  the  two  bodies  composing  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
have  a  term  of  office  of  only  two  years.  Senators  hold 
office  six  years.  But  as  every  second  year  the  freshly 
elected  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  take 
their  seats,  there  is  said  to  begin  then  a  new  Congress. 
These  biennial  Congresses  have  been  numbered  consecu- 
tively from  the  first  in  1789  to  the  present  65th  Congress 
whose  members  came  into  office  March  4,  1917.  Each 
senator,  then,  is  elected  for  the  period  of  three  Con- 
gresses. But  their  terms  of  office  have  been  arranged 
from  the  beginning  so  that  they  expire,  not  all  at  once, 
but  in  relays,  one  third  of  the  membership  every  two 
years.  Thus,  while  we  have  biennial  Congresses,  with 
annual  sessions,  the  Senate  is  a  continuous  body  down 
from  the  beginning  of  the  government.  The  Senate,  al- 
though the  smaller  body,  yet  —  because  each  senator 
stands  for  a  larger  constituency  than  a  representative, 
and  is,  indeed,  often  considered  as  standing  for  a 
sovereign  state,  not  for  a  certain  number  of  voters  —  is 
given  precedence  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  all 
official  matters.     One  hears  them  called  the  upper  and 

119 


120  General 

lower  house  respectively.  This  extends  even  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  their  pubhcations,  those  of  the  Senate  being 
placed  first  usually. 

A  session  is  a  meeting  which  is  regarded  in  parliamen- 
tary law  as  continuous,  but  is  actually  broken  by  daily  or 
more  frequent  adjournments,  each  one  specifying  a  defi- 
nite time  of  reassembling.  It  may  last  over  a  number  of 
months.  An  adjournment  sine  die,  that  is,  without  any 
fixed  time  for  coming  together  again,  terminates  a  session. 
The  constitution  of  the  United  States  directs  that  Con- 
gress shall  meet  at  least  once  a  year,  beginning  the  first 
IMonday  in  December,  unless  Congress  shall  fix  some 
other  date,  which  it  has  not  done.  Congress  has  ordered, 
however,  that,  of  its  regular  annual  sessions,  two  for  each 
biennial  Congress,  one  session  may  run  along  to  the  very 
hour  of  opening  of  the  succeeding  session,  unless  ended 
sooner  by  its  own  vote ;  but  the  other  must  terminate  the 
fourth  of  March.  Thus  we  have  alternately  a  long 
session  and  a  short  one.  It  is  convenient  to  recall  that 
this  end  of  the  short  session  on  the  fourth  of  March 
comes  always  in  the  odd-numbered  years,  1913,  1915, 
.etc.  The  fourth  of  March  sees  also,  as  each  two  biennial 
periods  pass  by,  the  inauguration  of  a  President.  At 
jioon  of  this  day,  as  the  63d,  64th,  or  other  biennial  Con- 
gress expires,  the  members  of  the  new  Congress  imme- 
diately come  into  office.  The  new  representatives  have 
been  elected  (in  all  but  three  of  the  states,  in  which  elec- 
tion is  earlier)  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  of 
(November  of  the  preceding  year,  and  have  been  repre- 
sentatives-elect all  through  the  short  session,  of  December 
to  March,  during  which  the  Congress  about  to  expire 
has  been  sitting  and  making  laws.  The  representative 
who  was  elected  in  November  and  holds  ofifice  from  the 
fourth  of  March,  does  not  begin  his  lawmaking  until 
the  regular  session  opens  the  following  December, 
unless  urgent  business  demands  immediate  action.  In 
that  case  an  extra  session  may  be  called  by  the  President 
at  any  time  after  March  fourth.     As  the  sessions  are 


General  121 

numbered  continuously  throughout  a  Congress,  if  an  extra 
session  is  called,  the  regular  sessions  become  the  second 
and  third,  instead  of  first  and  second,  in  numbering. 

The  Senate  has,  of  course,  its  semi-executive  func- 
tions as  adjunct  and  advisory  to  the  Chief  Executive  in 
the  appro\»al  of  treaties  and  of  nominations  of  officers. 
It  is,  therefore,  for  this  purpose  only,  occasionally  as- 
sembled in  session  alone,  the  House  not  sitting;  but  this 
does  not  affect  the  numbers  of  the  sessions,  which  include 
only  those  held  jointly,  Senate  and  House  both  sitting. 
The  printed  proceedings  and  debates  of  these  special 
sessions  of  the  Senate,  those,  that  is,  not  confidential 
and  published  in  the  Congressional  Record,  are  usually 
so  slight  that  they  are  not  made  a  separate  volume,  but 
are  bound  in  with  the  volume  covering  the  session  fol- 
lowing or  preceding.  And  the  same  is  done  wnth  the 
Reports  and  Documents,  if  any,  of  these  special  sessions 
of  the  Senate.  A  convenient  table  of  dates  of  Con- 
gresses and  their  sessions  and  the  Presidents  in  office 
during  each  may  be  found  in  the  Checklist,  pages  185- 
188.     Another  list  is  in  the  Congressional  Directory. 

The  regular  publications  of  the  legislative  branch  of  the 
government  which  will  be  taken  up  here  in  turn  may  be 
counted  as  five,  viz: —  (i)  the  Journals  of  each  house; 
(2)  the  Congressional  Record;  (3)  the  bills  and  laws; 
(4)  the  committee  Reports  of  each  house;  and  (5)  the 
Documents  of  each  house.  The  laws  are  included  here 
for  convenience.  Strictly,  an  engrossed  copy  of  each 
goes  from  Congress  to  the  State  Department,  where  the 
Bureau  of  Rolls  and  Library  preserves  the  engrossed 
copy,  and  prints  and  distributes  all  editions  of  the  laws. 


II 

The  Serially  Numbered  Set 

Three  of  these  five  publications,  the  Journals,  Docu- 
ments, and  committee  Reports,  have  from  the  earliest 
times  been  connected  together  by  a  certain  uniformity  of 
treatment,  including  make-up,  style,  binding,  laws  as  to 
printing  and  distribution,  etc.  This  has  caused  them  to 
be  thought  of  together  by  the  public,  and  shelved  together 
in  libraries,  as  one  continuous  series  known  as  the  Con- 
gressional set,  or  Congressional  series,  or  —  calling  all  by 
the  title  which  belongs  to  only  one  of  the  series  —  the 
'Congressional  documents.  It  has  also  been  dubbed  the 
sheep-bound  set  or  sheep  set,  other  government  publica- 
tions being  mostly  in  cloth  or  paper,  while  these  volumes 
till  1907  were  always  bound  in  full  sheep.  Also  it  has 
been  called  the  serial  set  from  the  serial  numbers  spoken 
of  beyond. 

The  Congressional  set  actually  consists  of  six  separate 
and  distinct  series,  or,  before  the  consolidation  of  the 
Executive  and  Miscellaneous  Documents  into  a  single 
series  with  the  title  Documents,  of  eight  series.  These 
six  series  are  the  Journals,  Reports,  and  Documents 
(Executive  Documents,  Miscellaneous  Documents)  of 
each  house. ^ 

1  It  should  be  observed  that  in  very  early  Congressional  publications 
these  series  were  not  differentiated,  nor  were  their  titles  always  Documents 
or  Reports.  It  is  only  beginning  with  the  i6th  Congress  that  the  Reports 
were  differentiated  from  the  Documents,  and  then  only  by  the  House.  With 
the  first  session  of  the  30th  Congress,  1847-48,  both  the  Senate  and  House 
publications  began  to  be  divided,  besides  Journals,  into  Reports  and  Ex- 
ecutive Documents  and  Miscellaneous  Documents.  The  Executive  Docu- 
ments were  intended  to  include  all  communications  from  the  President  and 
the  executive  departments,  the  Miscellaneous  Documents  all  other  papers 
connected  with  the  business  of  Congress  outside  of  committee  Reports.  By 
the  printing  law  of  1895  and  beginning  with  the  ist  session  of  the  54th 
Congress,  1895-96,  the  Congressional  set  was  simplified  by  consolidating  the 
two  series  of  Executive  and  Miscellaneous  Documents  for  each  house  each 
into  a  single  series  with  the  title  Documents.     See  Checklist,  p.  xix. 

122 


The  Serially  Numbered  Set  123 

The  two  Journals,  of  the  Senate  and  House  respect- 
ively, consist  each  of  one  volume  only.  But  each  of  the 
four  (or  six)  other  series  consist  of  many  separate  publi- 
cations, bound,  separately  or  in  collected  lots,  into  numer- 
ous volumes.  Within  each  series  the  publications  and 
also  the  volumes  are  numbered  consecutively  and  inde- 
pendently, making  a  dual  system  of  numbering  within 
each  series. 

The  order  of  arrangement  of  the  six  (or  eight)  series 
has  not  always  been  the  same,  but  always  a  session  to- 
gether, the  Senate  preceding  the  House,  and  the  Journals 
foremost.  At  present  the  order  is,  first  the  Journals  of 
both  houses,  then  the  Reports  of  both,  then  the  Docu- 
ments. The  Executive  Documents  preceded  the  Miscel- 
laneous Documents  as  long  as  these  existed  separately. 
Examination  of  the  tables  of  the  Congressional  set  in  the 
Checklist  will  show  how  the  order  varied  from  time  to 
time. 

Another  set  of  numbers  ties  together  these  six  (or 
eight)  series  with  an  additional  bond.  This  is  the  so- 
called  serial  number  assigned  to  every  volume  of  Jour- 
nals, Reports,  and  Documents,  beginning  with  the  first 
of  the  15th  Congress  and  continuing  without  a  break 
down  to  the  latest  volume  issuing  today  from  the  govern- 
ment press.  This  was  devised  by  Dr.  John  G.  Ames,  and 
the  full  scheme  was  first  put  into  use  in  the  second  edition 
of  the  Checklist,  1895.  In  regard  to  the  serial  number- 
ing it  may  be  allowable  to  repeat  here  what  has  been  al- 
ready explained.-  This  is  that,  while  it  might  seem  that 
to  add  another  to  the  already  complicated  sets  of  number- 
ings  would  only  increase  confusion,  yet,  with  the  Congres- 
sional set  as  it  existed  when  Dr.  Ames  assigned  them, 
these  numbers  were  a  great  help.  They  provided  an  ab- 
solutely distinctive  and  short  designation  for  each  volume 
to  substitute  for  the  long  statement  of  Congress,  session, 
number,  and  volume.  Besides  quoting  and  calling  for  it 
by  this  short  number,  distinct  and  different  for  each  vol- 

2  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  5,  p.  71. 


124  The  Serially  Numbered  Set 

ume,  the  set  on  the  Hbrary  shelves  could  be  checked  by 
these  numbers  to  prove  that  nothing  was  lacking,  and  all 
were  in  order.  Under  the  present  semi-reformed  and 
compromise  system  there  are  three  classes  of  publications 
with  serial  numbers  which  are  lacking  in  the  depositories' 
sets.  These  are  the  Journals ;  the  Reports  on  simple  and 
concurrent  resolutions  and  on  private  bills;  and  the  an- 
nuals and  other  serials  originating  in  the  executive  bodies, 
as  the  depositories  receive  these  in  plain  title  edition. 
Gaps  in  the  serial  numbers  on  the  depository  library 
shelves  show  where  these  three  classes  of  works  are  want- 
ing. The  continuity  of  the  numbers  is  now  so  ragged 
and  broken  as  to  impair  their  usefulness. 

To  describe  or  refer  with  bibliographical  exactness 
to  any  Document  or  Report  of  Congress,  eight  items  or 
designations  must  be  given,  viz.: —  (i)  U.  S. ;  (2)  num- 
ber of  the  Congress;  (3)  number  of  the  session;  (4) 
Senate  or  House;  (5)  title  of  the  series,  i.e.,  Document 
(Executive  Document,  ^Miscellaneous  Document)  or  Re- 
port; (6)  number  in  its  series;  (7)  volume  number;  (8) 
serial  number.^  The  number  of  the  session,  (3),  is 
superfluous  for  publications  of  a  date  since  the  Document 
and  Report  numbers  began  being  continuous  throughout 
a  Congress.  But  as  during  nearly  a  century  the  num- 
bering began  anew  each  session,  to  omit  this  item  for  any- 
thing earlier  than  the  2d  session  of  the  60th  Congress 
might  leave  the  reader  in  doubt  between  two  Documents 
of  the  same  number  but  of  different  sessions,  instead  of 
guiding  him  straight  to  the  right  one.*  Thus  the  correct 
reference  or  quotation  will  read,  e.g.,  U.  S.  54th  Con- 
gress, I  St  session,  House  Document  430.  In  v.  88;  3455. 
The  order,  punctuation,  etc.,  do  not  matter,  provided  all 
the  items  are  given.  But  in  any  catalog,  to  adopt  an 
order  of  items  and  use  it  uniformly  is  recommended, 
both  for  neatness,  and  to  check  forgetfulness. 

3  See  also,  beyond.  Cataloging:   i.  House  and  Senate  four  series,  p.  207. 

4  See  Checklist,  p.   156,  footnote. 


Ill 

Journals 

The  Journals  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  House  are  pub- 
lished separately  for  each  body,  are  royal  octavo,  and 
are  one  volume  a  session  for  each.  They  contain  the 
bare  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  excluding  debates, 
speeches,  etc.  How:  much  that  which  is  excluded  is  in 
bulk  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two  volumes  of  the 
Journals  for  preferably  a  long  session  with  the  several 
large  quarto  volumes  of  the  Congressional  Record  for 
the  same  session. 

Although  the  Journals  still  have  assigned  to  them  a 
serial  number  as  of  old  before  the  days  of  bibliographical 
reform,  yet  that  number  now  represents  always  a  gap  on 
the  shelves  of  the  depository  library.  Since  the  passage 
of  the  law  of  January  12,  1895,  the  Journals  have  not 
been  sent  to  all  depository  libraries.  There  are  printed 
for  libraries  only  144  copies,  sent  to  only  three  libraries 
in  each  state,  one  of  which  is  the  state  library.  The 
new  printing  bill  restores  the  Journals  to  the  depository 
libraries. 

The  Journals  of  the  executive  sessions  of  the  Sen- 
ate are  confidential  until,  after  due  lapse  of  time,  that 
body  removes  the  injunction  of  secrecy  and  orders  that 
they  be  printed.^  They  are  not  a  part  of  the  Congres- 
sional set,  but  a  distinct  series  of  volumes  by  themselves, 
and  will  not  be  taken  up  here,  except  to  say  that  the  new 
bill  provides  for  each  volume,  as  it  is  printed  and  made 
public,  the  same  distribution  as  for  the  Journals  of  the 
open  sessions.  An  account  of  them  will  be  found  in  the 
Checklist,  page  1503. 

5  See,  for  account  of  them,  Monthly  Catalog,  May,  1910,  p.  667. 

125 


IV 

Congressional  Record  ° 

The  Journals  are  superfluous  and  unwanted  in  libra- 
ries because  the  Congressional  Record  contains  every- 
thing found  in  them,  with  much  more.  The  Record, 
however,  gives  the  proceedings  of  each  legislative  day 
in  both  houses  continuously,  instead  of  segregating  them 
in  a  separate  volume  for  each  body,  as  the  Journals  do. 
It  gives  a  complete  verbatim  account,  taken  down  on  the 
floor  of  Senate  and  House  by  the  official  stenographers, 
the  most  expert  in  the  country,  of  all  that  is  said  and 
done  in  Congress  day  by  day. 

The  Record  began  in  1873  ^t  the  opening  of  the  43d 
Congress,  and  its  publication  was  the  beginning  of  the 
government's  official  reporting  and  printing  the  pro- 
ceedings for  itself.  It  has,  how-ever,  three  predecessors, 
which,  though  not  compiled  by  the  government,  were 
sanctioned  by  it  and  recognized  as  official,  and  which 
successively  bring  down  these  proceedings  from  the 
first  Congress  in  1789  to  1873.  These  are  the  An- 
nals of  Congress,  the  Register  of  Debates,  and  the  Con- 
gressional Globe.'^ 

The  proceedings  of  Congress  which  the  Record  con- 
tains are  not  reprinted  in  any  Report  or  Document  of 
the  Congressional  set,  the  now  undistributed  Journals 
being  left  out  of  the  question.     Conversely,  neither  do 

6  Interesting  discussions  of  this  publication  will  be  found  in  Congressional 
Record,  62d  Congress,  2d  session,  v.  48:2293  (illustrations  in);  3936  (sub- 
scription price);  3254  (quotas  of  members);  4328  (average  cost  of  printing); 
4466  (1,000,000  copies  proposed);  5824,  6497  (speeches  in).  Also  in  same, 
63d  Congress,  2d  session,  H.  of  R.;  Jan.  24,  1914;  v.  51:2266-2268  (Barn- 
hart;  cost  of  Record).  As  to  quotas  of  Records  distributed  through  folding 
rooms  in  56th,  5  7th,  and  58th  Congresses,  see  U.  S.  Printing  Investigation 
Commission,  Report,  1906,  v.  i:  123  (Brian);  also,  in  S3d  to  s8th  Con- 
gresses,  same:    156-160. 

7  See,  for  history  and  description  of  these  series,  Checklist,  p.   1463-1475. 

126 


Congressional  Record  127 

the  Reports  and  Documents  of  Congress  appear  reprinted 
in  the  Record  except  infrequently  as  some  special  reason 
may  place  one  there.  For  instance,  messages  of  the 
President,  which  are  always  in  the  Record,  may  or  may 
not  be  found  as  Documents  of  Congress.  Neither  is  the 
text  of  bills  and  resolutions,  of  laws  and  treaties  to  be 
found  in  the  Record  except  as  above  stated.  The  print- 
ing there  of  simple  resolutions  and  of  other  short  resolu- 
tions may  be  an  exception  to  this  general  rule. 

The  bulk  of  the  Record  is  swollen  by  the  advantage 
taken  by  members  of  Congress  of  the  so-called  leave 
to  print  or  to  extend  remarks.  By  this,  on  request,  if 
no  one  objects,  a  member  is  permitted  to  print  in  the 
Record  remarks,  to  present  which  on  the  floor  of  Senate 
or  House  time  was  not  granted,  or,  scandal  whispers, 
sometimes  was  not  desired  nor  asked.  And,  coupled 
with  this,  is  the  privilege  to  have  reprinted  at  cost  and 
without  restriction  as  to  quantity  any  part  of  the  Rec- 
ord, and,  indeed,  of  any  United  States  government  pub- 
lication. These  reprints,  costing  little  and  sent  free  un- 
der the  member's  frank,  may  be  distributed  broadcast 
over  the  country  as  campaign  documents,  or  as  tokens 
to  the  member's  constituents  of  his  activity  and  impor- 
tance in  Congress,  where,  it  might  happen,  he  had  not 
once  been  recognized  to  make  a  speech.  The  printing 
bill  sets  limitations  to  both  these  privileges. 

The  Record  is  issued  in  an  unbound  part  for  each 
day  that  Congress  or  either  house  is  in  session.  Index 
parts  come  out  semi-monthly.  Caution  must  be  given 
that  the  paging  of  the  final  bound  volumes  differs  from 
that  of  the  dailies,  being  changed  in  consolidating  the 
text  as  it  appeared  in  the  daily  issues.  So  the  semi- 
monthly indexes  can  not  be  used  for  the  bound  volume, 
nor  will  the  index  to  the  bound  volumes  verify  if  used 
for  the  unbound  numbers.  Reference  made  to  the  Con- 
gressional Record  should  be  always  to  the  pages  of  the 
bound  volume ;  or,  if  necessarily  to  the  unbound  issues, 
then    statement    to    that    effect    should    be    made.     The 


128  Congressional  Record 

daily  issues  should  be  thrown  away  as  soon  as  the  bound 
volume  is  received.  They  are  no  longer  of  any  use, 
and  are  not  wanted  returned  in  Washington.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  a  session  are  called  one  volume  of  the  Rec- 
ord, paged  continuously,  with  an  index  to  all  of  it  at  the 
end ;  but  this  so-called  volume  is  usually  so  large  as  to 
have  to  be  bound  in  several  parts,  each  part  itself  a  large 
quarto  volume  with  its  own  separate  title-page.  The 
index  by  itself  makes  one  of  these  parts  or  separate 
volumes  of  good  size.  An  appendix,  bound  often  with 
the  index,  contains  only  speeches,  those  which  did  not 
appear  in  the  daily  Record  of  proper  date,  perhaps  be- 
cause they  were  withheld  by  their  authors  for  revision, 
or  for  other  causes. 

The  index  of  the  Record  under  committees  and  mem- 
bers is  satisfactory,  so  far  as  the  writer's  experience 
goes.  But  the  indexing  of  subjects  gives  reason  to  wish 
that  a  person  could  be  put  at  the  task  who,  besides  be- 
ing conversant  with  the  business  of  Congress,  might  be 
in  addition  trained  in  catalogmg.  Examples  can  be 
furnished  by  hundreds  where  the  canons  of  subject  cata- 
loging do  not  seem  to  be  known,  and  are  certainly  not 
observed.^  The  user  thereby  loses  much  time,  and  fre- 
quently loses  some  of  the  material  also. 

One  indispensable  part  of  the  index  has  given  the 
writer  efficient  service  on  all  occasions  when  used. 
This  is  the  History  of  Bills  and  Resolutions  at  the  end. 
This  is  a  complete  numerical  list  of,  first  the  Senate 
bills  and  joint,  concurrent,  and  simple  resolutions,  fol- 
lowed by  the  same  of  the  House.  It  includes  only  those 
which   have   been   introduced   or   on   which   action    has 

8  See,  for  criticism  by  R.  P.  Falkner,  endorsed  by  the  council  of  the 
American  Library  Association,  Library  Journal,  2-]:  C93,  C96,  1902;  Library 
Journal,  .:8:  C103-C104,  1903;  also  same  in  A.  L.  A.  Proceedings,  190J, 
1903.  Also,  by  the  writer,  in  A.  L.  A.  Papers  and  proceedings,  1916,  p. 
318.  Also  by  Superintendent  of  Documents  Ferrell,  U.  S.  Printing  Investi- 
gation Commission,  Report,  1906,  v.  1:77.  The  last  complains  that  the 
index  gives  no  clue  under  subjects  to  a  speech  made  to  a  bill,  but  on  a 
subject  foreign  to  it,  e.g.,  a  speech  on  the  tariff  made  while  rivers  and 
harbors  appropriations  have  the  floor. 


Congressional  Record  129 

been  taken  in  the  session  covered  by  the  volume  in- 
dexed. Gaps  between  the  numbers  show  bills  of  an- 
other session  untouched  in  this  session.  Under  each  bill 
will  be  found  stated  every  stage  of  its  progress  from  its 
introduction  down  to — if  it  became  a  law  —  its  return 
approved  by  the  President ;  and,  in  recent  volumes,  its 
number  as  a  public  or  private  law  or  resolution.  The 
numbers  of  any  Reports  or  Documents  on  it  are  also 
given.  If  none  of  these  facts  are  given,  then  the  bill 
had  no  history  after  being  introduced  and  referred  to  a 
committee  as  the  rules  direct,  that  is,  in  the  session  cov- 
ered by  the  index  being  consulted.  But  the  search  must 
extend  through  all  the  indexes  for  all  the  sessions  of  a 
Congress,  as  the  bill  may  have  been  introduced  at  the 
opening  of  the  first  session  and  not  passed  till  near  the 
close  of  the  last  session. 

If  one  particular  bill  failed  to  pass,  this  does  not  prove 
that  the  measure  did  not  go  through.  Often  several  bills 
and  resolutions  to  accomplish  an  identical  purpose,  or 
identical  bills  in  both  houses  are  introduced ;  or  a  bill  or 
bills  are  swallowed  up  by  a  committee,  and  the  measure 
reported  back  in  an  entirely  new  bill  with  another  num- 
ber. In  recent  volumes  of  the  Record  index,  in  the 
alphabetical  part,  an  asterisk  added  to  a  bill  number  in- 
dicates that  there  was  action  on  the  bill. 

If  the  object  be  to  find  whether  a  measure  passed  or 
not  and  then  to  find  the  published  text  of  the  law.  the  pro- 
cedure is  to  look  in  the  alphabetical  part  under  subject 
and  other  entries,  and  note  either  all  bills  there  recorded, 
or,  in  recent  volumes,  the  one  starred.**  Then  turn  to 
those  numbers  or  that  number  in  the  History  of  Bills 
and  Resolutions  at  the  end  of  the  index.  In  the  earlier 
case   each   number   must   be    examined   till   the    one    is 

9  The  index  is  so  faultily  made  that  one  can  not  be  sure  to  find  together 
under  one  subject  all  bill  numbers,  etc,  but  one  must  examine  all  pertinent 
and  related  subjects  and  also  the  committee  and  personal  entries  to  make 
sure  of  getting  all  the  material.  If  the  index  were  properly  made,  with 
uniform  system  of  subject  headings,  and  consistency  in  entry  under  them, 
and  in  the  cross  references,  this  would  not  be  necessary. 


130  Congressional  Record 

found  the  history  of  which  comes  down  to  its  being 
passed  and  signed  by  the  President.  In  later  Records  the 
asterisk  gives  reference  direct  to  the  one  which  became 
law,  or  to  several  on  which  action  was  taken,  which  must 
include  the  one  that  finally  passed.  The  date  when  ap- 
proved; also,  in  the  later  volumes,  the  words,  "Public 

no,  ,"  or  "  Private  no.  "  (these  latter  being  the 

number  of  the  law  in  slip  form),  will  identify  the  law 
either  in  the  separate  slip  form,  or  in  the  collected  laws. 
Of  both  of  these  forms  description  will  be  given  fur- 
ther on. 

In  tracing,  by  use  of  the  Congressional  Record  and  its 
index,  the  passage  of  a  bill  into  law,  the  following  data 
should  be  gathered  :  — 

1.  Number  of  bill  or  resolution  that  passed.     Describe  by  four 

designations. 

2.  Congress  and   session   and   years  covered  by  the   session  in 

which  passed. 

3.  By  whom  introduced.     If  prepared  in  committee,  note  it. 

4.  Committees  of  each  house  which  considered  it,  including  con- 

ference committees,  if  any. 

5.  Other  bills  or  resolutions  on  the  same  subject  which  did  not 

become  law. 

6.  Any  Reports  printed.    Describe  by  eight  designations. 

7.  Any  Documients  printed.     Describe  by  eight  designations. 

8.  Notable  debate  and  speeches.     Names  of  speakers  and  refer- 

ence to  pages  of  Record. 

9.  Date  of  signature. 

10.  Slip  law  number. 

11.  Volume  and  page  of  Statutes  at  Large  where  law  is  to  be 

found.     If  Statutes  are  not  yet  out  substitute  reference  to 

Session  Laws. 
But  if  on  the  measure  there  are  sought  the  total  ac- 
tion and  the  debates  of  Congress,  then  there  must  be 
noted  under  the  subject  in  the  alphabetical  index  every 
entry  and  every  bill  and  resolution,  and,  in  the  History, 
the  action  taken  on  all  the  latter,  also  the  Documents  and 
Reports  printed ;  and  all  page  references  must  be  looked 
up.  Looking  up  the  page  references  is  a  weary  search 
which  might  be  lessened,  especially  for  the  references 
in  the  History,  were  the  indexing  done  by  a  person  as 


Congressional  Record  131 

expert  in  indexing  as  the  Record  stenographers,  say, 
are  in  stenography,  as  a  system  of  defined  or  modified 
references  to  pages  might  be  worked  out.'*^  But  the 
most  enhghtening  debate  and  the  most  important  action 
may  have  been  on  a  bill  which  did  not  pass  finally,  an- 
other bill  number  having  gained  the  right  of  way.  And 
speeches  or  debate  on,  for  instance,  the  tarifif,  or  other 
subject  of  current  politics,  occur  often  quite  irrespective 
of  the  measure  before  the  house.  The  subject  entries 
of  the  index  should  give  a  clue  to  these  also. 

To  find  the  total  history  of  legislation  which  was 
long  incubating,  the  Records  of  several  sessions  or  Con- 
gresses must  be  searched.  Government  treatment  of 
American  merchant  marine  will  occur  to  any  one  as  a 
subject  sporadic  in  Congress  over  many  years.  In  its 
latest  phase,  government  owned  ships  for  the  period 
of  the  European  war,  it  presents  an  interesting  exam- 
ple of  how  a  measure,  discussed  in  Congress  after  Con- 
gress without  action  thereon,  may  persist  and  finally  in 
one  form  or  another  become  law.  Not  until  every  stone 
has  been  upturned  in  searching  the  Record  can  one  be 
sure  one  has  not  overlooked  some  vital  facts  in  this  orig- 
inal source  of  current  political  and  legislative  history  — 
facts  of  which  this  is  the  storehouse,  and  which  can  be 
gleaned  at  first  hand  nowhere  else.  The  inestimable 
value  of  a  scientifically  made  index  to  the  Record,  with  a 
system  of  uniform  subject  headings  continuous  through 
successive  volumes,  can  be  thus  seen.  Could  such  a  one 
be  once  made  and  shown,  it  would  be  acclaimed  by  scho- 
lars, statesmen,  in  fact,  by  every  one  who  has  occasion  to 
use  the  work. 

A  comparison  of  the  Congressional  Record  index  and 
the  Document  Index  as  to  what  can  be  obtained  from 
each  may  be  helpful.  The  Record  not  only  indexes  its 
own  contents  —  the  debates  and  proceedings  of  Congres3 
including  its  action  on  bills  —  but  also  supplies  incident- 

10  See  Indexing,  principles,  rules,  and  examples,  by  M.  T.  Wheeler.  2d 
ed.  rev.  Albany,  1913.  (N.  Y.  State  Library.  Library  School  IBuUetin] 
33) 


132  Congressional  Record 

ally  the  numbers  of  bills  and  resolutions  and  of  the  Re- 
ports and  Documents  on  them,  and,  begmnmg  with  the 
57th  Congress,  1901-3,  the  numbers  of  the  slip  laws.  All 
of  these  are  publications  separate  from  the  Record. 
The  Document  Index  indexes  only  the  Documents  and 
Reports,  and  supplies  incidentally  only  one  thing,  viz.,  in 
the  entry  of  Reports  the  number  of  the  bill  or  resolution 
on  which  made.  The  good  workmanship  of  this  latter 
index  ensures  finding,  under  the  subject  heading  used, 
all  the  Reports  and  Documents  that  bear  on  it ;  but  no  clue 
is  supplied  to  bills  not  reported  on,  to  the  action  of  Con- 
gress on  a  bill,  or  to  whether  a  bill  became  law  or  not. 
The  Document  Index  is  so  much  better  an  index  than  that 
of  the  Record,  that  it  may  sometimes  expedite  search  to 
find  from  it  the  number  of  a  bill,  instead  of  from  the 
alphabetical  part  of  the  Record  index,  thence  turning 
direct  to  the  History  for  the  action  on  it  and  final  dis- 
position of  it. 

The  Document  Catalog,  it  may  be  mentioned,  ap- 
pends to  entries  of  Reports  the  page  number  of  the 
Statutes  at  Large  where  the  text  of  the  bill  that  was 
reported  and  became  a  law  is  to  be  found.  If  the  bill 
did  not  become  law  in  that  Congress,  of  course  there  is 
no  reference. 

The  abbreviations  used  by  the  Record  index  and  the 
Document  Index  respectively  are  difterent.  To  avoid 
confusion,  a  table  of  them  is  appended :  — 

Congressional  Document 
Record  Index- 
Senate  bill  S.  S. 

Senate  joint  resolution  S.   J.    Res.  S.   J.   R. 

Senate  concurrent  resolution    S.    Con.  Res.  S.   C.   R. 

Senate  resolution    S.    Res.  S.   R. 

House  bill   H.  R.  H. 

House  joint  resolution   H.  J.    Res.  H.  J.  R. 

House  concurrent  resolution    ....     H.  Con.  Res.  H.  C.  R. 

House  resolution H.  Res.  H.  R. 


V 

Bills  and  Resolutions:  Laws 

The  business  of  Congress  is  to  produce  laws.  A  pro- 
posed law  is  either  a  bill  or  a  resolution.  "  Facts,  prin- 
ciples, and  their  own  opinions  and  purposes,  are  ex- 
pressed in  the  form  of  resolutions.^^  There  are  three 
kinds  of  resolutions :  joint ;  concurrent ;  and  simple.  As 
to  form  the  difference  between  the  four  is  in  the  enacting 
clause  at  the  beginning.  A  bill  begins :  "  Be  it  en- 
acted " ;  a  resolution,  "  Resolved,"  or  "  Be  it  resolved," 
the  rest  of  the  phrase  varying  with  the  kind  of  resolution 
it  is.^-  As  to  content,  the  simple  and  concurrent  resolu- 
tion are  of  the  same  grade,  and  are  not  understood  to 
embody  legislation.  The  simple  resolution  concerns  the 
business  of  one  house  only,  and  is  not  submitted  to  the 
other  house,  nor  to  the  President,  nor  preserved  in  the 
laws.  Frequently,  being  short,  its  text  is  printed  in  full 
in  the  Record  as  part  of  the  proceedings.  Concurrent 
resolutions  concern  the  business  and  require  the  consent 
of  both  houses.  They  do  not  go  to  the  President,  but 
since  the  printing  law  of  1895  they  have  been  printed  in 
the  Statutes  at  Large,  beginning  with  volume  28  for  the 
53d  Congress. 

"  The  joint  resolution  is  a  bill  so  far  as  the  processes 
of  Congress  in  relation  to  it  are  concerned  .  .  .  They 
are  used  for  what  may  be  called  the  incidental,  unusual. 

n  U.  S.  Congress.  H.  of  R.  Constitution,  Jefferson's  manual,  and  rules 
.  .  .  63d  Congress,  3d  session,  sec.  388. 

12  A  simple  resolution  begins:  "Resolved";  a  concurrent  resolution, 
••Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring)"— the 
order  is  reversed  if  originating  m  the  House;  a  joint  resolution,  "  Resolved 
by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  m  Congress  assembled";  a  bill,  "Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  Anlenca  '  in "  Congress 
assembled." 

133 


134  Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws 

or  inferior  purposes  of  legislating.""  The  differences 
in  content  of  bills  and  the  various  kinds  of  resolutions 
may  be  grasped  by  exammation  of  samples  of  them  in 
the  Statutes  at  Large.  But  to  illustrate  —  if  either 
house  alone  takes  an  adjournment  for  the  allowed 
period,  it  does  so  by  simple  resolution.  It  also  adjusts 
its  business  relations  with  its  own  ofticials  in  this  form. 
But  the  two  houses  adjourn  for  more  than  the  permitted 
three  days  or  sine  die  by  concurrent  resolution.  Orders 
to  print  may  be  by  simple  resolution  up  to  a  certain 
limit  of  cost,  above  that  by  concurrent  resolution,  or  by 
joint  resolution,  or  even  by  a  bill.^* 

A  bill  or  resolution  is  quoted  by  stating  four  items 
concerning  it,  namely :  —  ( i )  number  of  the  Congress ; 
(2)  the  house  in  which  it  originated;  (3)  its  title,  i.e., 
bill  or  resolution  of  whatever  kind;  (4)  its  number. 
The  description  will  read,  for  example,  64th  Congress, 
Senate  joint  resolution  2y. 

At  present  a  bill  or  resolution  under  consideration  is 
printed,  unless  specifically  ordered  by  either  house,  six 
times  only,  viz.:  —  when  in  the  house  of  origin  it  is  (i) 
referred  to  a  committee;  (2)  favorably  reported  back; 
and  (3)  after  its  passage;  the  same  processes  duplicat- 
ing in  the  second  house. 

No  bill  or  resolution,  unless  in  special  reprint  edition, 
is  listed  in  the  Checklist,  or  in  the  Monthly  Catalog, 
nor  is  any  indexed  directly  in  the  Document  Index  or 
in  Poore,  Ames,  or  the  Document  Catalog.  They  are 
indexed  directly  in  the  Congressional  Record  index  only. 
But  such  as  attain  the  dignity  of  having  a  Report  made 
on  them  can  be  reached  indirectly  through  the  entries 

13  U.  S.  Congress.  H.  of  R.  Constitution,  Jefferson's  manual,  and  rules 
.  .  .  63d  Congress,  .3d  session,  sec.   390. 

14  "  Resolutions  of  inquiry  are  usually  simple  rather  than  concurrent  in 
form,  and  are  never  joint  resolutions."  U.  S.  Congress.  H.  of  R.  Con- 
stitution, Jefferson's  manual,  and  rules  .  .  .  63d  Congress,  3d  session,  sec. 
835.  "  Notice  to  a  foreign  government  of  the  abrogation  of  a  treaty  is 
authorized  by  a  joint  resolution."  Same,  sec.  592.  "  Amendments  to  the 
Constitution  are  proposed  in  the  form  of  joint  resolutions  .  .  but  are  not 
presented  to  the  President  for  his  approval."     Same,  sec.  223. 


Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws  135 

for  these  Reports  in  the  Monthly  Catalog  (under  the 
name  of  the  committee  only),  in  the  Document  Catalog, 
and  the  Document  Index,  the  bill  number  and  title  of  the 
bill  bemg  included  as  part  of  the  entry  in  the  first  two, 
the  number  only  m  the  last.  Bills  and  resolutions  are  not 
received  by  libraries,  nor  has  the  Documents  Office  any 
supply  for  distribution.  Their  number  is  legion,  and 
the  demand  for  them  is  infinitesimal  in  proportion  to 
their  number.  But  debaters  who  discuss  live  topics  and 
those  interested  in  pending  legislation  are  frequently  at 
a  disadvantage  because  of  not  having  before  them  the 
exact  provisions  of  a  measure  which  is  being  considered 
by  Congress.  Application  to  a  senator  or  representative 
will  usually,  doubtless,  procure  a  copy  or  copies.  But 
if  some  depository  of  current  bills,  on  public  business 
only,  could  be  created,  to  which  application  could  be 
made  at  need,  with  certainty  of  prompt  supply,  it  would 
be  a  boon  to  many.  The  burden  of  the  overwhelming 
surplus  of  bills  which  would  never  be  called  for,  but 
which  would  have  to  be  kept  so  as  to  be  ready  to  supply 
the  few  demands,  could  be  relieved  by  requiring  merely 
a  four-years'  or  a  two-years'  preservation,  and  exclud- 
ing private  bills. 

The  procedure  by  which  a  bill  or  a  joint  resolution 
becomes  law  is  the  following :  —  ( i )  It  is  introduced  into 
either  house  and  referred  to  a  committee,  usually  auto- 
matically and  according  as  the  rules  direct.  Many  bills, 
in  fact,  the  majority  of  the  vast  number  with  which  Con- 
gress is  annually  flooded,  stop  here,  and  are  said  to  die  in 
committee.  (2)  It  is  reported  back,  either  adversely,  or 
favorably  with  or  without  amendments.  It  is  seldom,  in- 
deed, that  a  bill  is  passed  over  an  adverse  report.  (3)  It 
is  voted  on  and  passed  by  the  house  in  which  it  originated. 
(4)  It  is  introduced  into  the  other  house  and  referred  to 
a  committee.  (5)  It  is  reported  back  with  or  without 
amendments.  (6)  It  is  passed  by  the  other  house.  If  it 
is  passed  with  amendments  of  course  it  has  to  go  back  to 
be  considered  again  in  the  house  from  which  it  came. 


136  Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws 

And  if  the  two  houses  vote  to  disagree  about  the  pro- 
visions of  the  bill,  then  members  of  each  house  are  des- 
ignated to  meet  and  confer  with  a  view  to  settling  points 
of  diflference.  This  is  called  a  conference  committee, 
and  the  bill  is  said  to  "  go  to  conference."  Usually  the 
conferees  are  appointed  from  the  membership  of  the 
committee  which  reported  the  bill  in  each  house.  But 
this  may  be  omitted  from  our  count  of  processes  as  a 
little  out  of  the  ordinary.  During  all  these  stages  it 
has  retained  its  bill  number  as  given  it  w^hen  originally 
introduced,  e.g.,  S. 19785,  or  H.J.R.25.  (7)  It  is  signed 
by  the  President.  We  may  omit  the  veto  procedure.  It 
is  now  published  in  separate  pamphlet  form  known  as  a 
slip  law  ^^  or  a  slip  resolution,  with  a  new  number  consec- 
utive through  the  Congress,  as  "  Public  no.   ,"  or 

"  Private  no.  ,"   "  Public   resolution   no.   ,"   or 

"  Private  resolution  no.  ."     Although  this  ends  the 

stages  of  the  progress  of  a  bill  or  resolution  into  full- 
fledged  law,  yet,  to  make  the  bibliographical  record  com- 
plete from  start  to  finish,  the  various  successive  forms 
in  which  the  laws  are  published  and  distributed  may  be 
added  here.  As  a  slip  law  it  has  gone  into  the  hands  of 
the  State  Department,  which  prints  and  distributes  the 
laws.  (8)  All  laws  of  a  session  are  collected  together 
and  printed  as  the  so-called  Session  or  Pamphlet  Laws.^*^ 
Appended  to  this  volume  are  the  collected  treaties  and 
conventions  and  the  proclamations  of  the  year,  which,  like 
the  slip  laws,  have  had  previous  publication  in  large  oc- 
tavo broadside  or  pamphlet  form.  (9)  All  the  laws  of  a 
Congress  are  collected  together  and  republished  as  a 
volume  of  the  Statutes  at  Large. ^'  Appended  are  the 
treaties  and  conventions  and  the  proclamations  for  the 
two  years.  (10)  The  final  form  is  the  Revised  Stat- 
utes.^^     This  consists  of  all  the  laws  in  force  at  the  time 

15  See  Checklist,  p.  954-957. 

16  See  Checklist,  p.  957-962. 

17  See   Checklist,   p.   965-968. 

li  See  Checklist,  p.  968-970.  See  also.  Documents  Office,  Price  list  10: 
Laws;  9th  ed.,  March,  1917,  from  Which  iiiforrhation  abbut  Codes  given 
below  is  quoted. 


Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws  137 

of  revision,  omitting  everything  repealed  or  made  void  by 
later  legislation,  rearranged  under  their  subjects,  and  re- 
enacted  en  bloc  to  make  the  whole  legally  binding.  No 
treaties  nor  proclamations  are  included.  All  treaties  to 
which  the  United  States  is  a  party  are  pubHshed  in  a 
cumulated  edition  from  time  to  time.^^  And  proclama- 
tions can  be  found  in  the  messages  and  papers  of  the 
Presidents,  several  cumulated  editions  of  which  have  been 
successively  published.-"  No  issue  of  the  Revised  Stat- 
utes has  been  made  since  the  Supplement  to  volume  2, 
1892-1901,  52d-56th  Congresses,  since  when  the  Statutes 
at  Large  and  Session  Laws  must  be  depended  on.  With 
this  set  should  be  used  the  Index  Analysis  of  the  Federal 
Statutes  .  .  .  1789-1907,  by  G.  W.  Scott,  M.  G.  Beaman 
and  others,  2  volumes,  published  191 1  and  1908  respec- 
tively, by  the  Library  of  Congress.  "  In  1897  a  Commis- 
sion to  Revise  the  Criminal  Laws  was  created.  Later  its 
scope  was  enlarged  to  include  all  the  Federal  laws.  Two 
chapters  of  the  new  revision  have  been  thus  far  passed  by 
Congress  and  made  laws,  namely,  the  Criminal  Code  [no 
pages,  191 1 ]  and  the  Judicial  Code  [149  pages,  1913]." 

No.  7,  the  slip  laws,  are  not  sent  to  libraries,  any  more 
than  the  bills  are,  although  they  can  be  obtained  on  ap- 
plication as  directed  in  the  Monthly  Catalog.  No.  8, 
the  Session  Laws,  are  the  first  issue  which  the  libra- 
ries receive.  No.  9,  the  Statutes  at  Large,  are  the  final 
form  for  a  library  to  preserve.  They  contain  all  the 
laws  of  all  the  sessions  of  a  single  Congress,  and  so 
entirely  duplicate  the  two  or  three  volumes  of  the  Ses- 
sion Laws,  which  should  be  thrown  away  when  the 
Statutes  at  Large  are  received.  The  only  use  an  old 
volume  of  Session  Laws  has  is  to  fill  in  where  a  dupli- 
cate is  needed,  or  to  supply  gaps  where  the  Statutes  are 
not  obtainable,  as  may  happen  with  early  volumes.  The 
case  is  dififerent  as  regards  the  Statutes  at  Large  and 
the  Revised  Statutes.     In  the  latter  all  acts  superseded 

19  See  Checklist,   p.  976-978.     Also,   an  edition   1910-1913,   in  3  volumes. 

20  See  Checklist,  p.  874-875. 


138  Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws 

or  repealed  arc  omitted ;  therefore,  to  have  a  copy  of  the 
laws  in  force  at  any  given  date  the  complete  set  of  the 
Statutes  must  be  permanently  retained. 

The  slip  laws  can  be  found  in  the  Checklist,-^  and  cur- 
rently in  the  Monthly  Catalog  and  the  Congressional 
Record  index.  Reference  to  the  separate  enactments  in 
the  Session  Laws  and  the  Statutes  at  Large  can  be 
made  through  their  volume  indexes ;  also,  as  said  be- 
fore, through  the  entries  in  the  Document  Catalog  un- 
der Reports  made  on  them.  To  a  trained  indexer  the 
volume  indexes  to  the  volumes  of  the  Statutes  at  Large 
seem  unsatisfactory,  matter  bearing  on  the  same  sub- 
ject being  indexed  partly  under  one  heading  and  partly 
under  another.--  Whether  the  legal  profession  are  sat- 
isfied with  them  is  not  known  to  the  writer. 

The   only   exact    way   to   quote   a   law    is    as    "  Pub- 
Cong.      "  j  Cong. 
or        •  "  Private  law  TTT".-;     c' 


lie  law 


date  I  date 

"  Public  resolution   ~~z: 


Cong. 
or       ;  "  Private  resolution, 


date 

fc^^i— " 

or       ,       It  may  also  be  quoted  —  giving  its  sub- 
date 

ject,  as  there  might  be  more  than  one  law  of  that  date  — 
by  date  alone ;  the  date  given  being,  of  course,  that  of  ap- 
proval by  the  President.  An  example  is :  Public  resolu- 
tion 13,  of  March  30,  1906;  or,  Public  resolution  13,  59th 
Congress ;  or,  Public  resolution  approved  March  30,  1906, 
requiring  departments  to  pay  main  costs  of  their  publica- 
tions printed  as  Documents  of  Congress  —  these  three 
being  dififerent  ways  of  quoting  the  selfsame  act.  It  is 
often  spoken  of  less  definitely  as  the  law  on  such  a  sub- 
ject of  such  a  year;  or,  by  the  name  of  some  man  who 

21  Under   State  Department,   S7  5. 

22  For  fault  found  with  the  indexing  of  the   Statutes  at  Large  by  James 
R.  Mann,  Republican  leader  in  the  House,  see  Cong.  Record,  51:  15237. 


Bills  and  Resolutions:     Laws  139 

was  active  in  putting  it  through,  as  the  McKinley  tariff 
law,  etc. ;  but  a  law  so  described  would  be  difficult  to 
identify  in  the  Statutes. 

If  the  distinction  between  public  and  private  legisla- 
tion is  not  clearly  grasped,  the  following  may  help : 
"  The  term,  private  bill,  shall  be  construed  to  mean  all 
bills  for  the  relief  of  private  parties,  bills  granting  pen- 
sions,   and    bills    removmg   political   disabilities,"  -•* 

It  should  be  added  that  now,  as  the  business  of  Congress 
is  so  volummous,  the  preparatory  investigation  and 
threshing  out  of  all  important  legislation  are  done  in  the 
committee  rooms.  But  what  goes  on  there  often  is  un- 
published, and  what  has  been  put  into  print  has  been 
inaccessible,  unknown,  and  unregulated  as  to  what  may 
be  printed  and  to  whom  distributed.  Often  valuable 
material  known  to  have  been  put  in  print  has  vanished, 
leaving  not  a  copy  for  later  generations.  Much  of  the 
total  work  done  by  Congress  in  the  hearings  and  rec- 
ords of  committees  and  in  other  papers  printed  to  facili- 
tate their  discussions,  has  been  lost  to  the  student  of 
public  events.  Luckily,  the  new  printing  bill  provides 
better  regulation  of  committee  publications,  and  enacts 
that  the  depository  libraries  shall  receive  them. 

23  Present  law  includes  bills  for  the  survey  cf  rivers  and  harbors.  The 
new  printing  bill  excludes  these  from  the  definlticn  of  private  bills,  but 
provides  that  they  shall  have  the  distribution  ot  private  bills. 


VI 

Reports  of  Committees  ^* 

As  has  been  seen,  the  subject  of  the  activity  of  Con- 
gress is  in  the  form  of  bills  and  resolutions.  These 
bills  and  resolutions  are  in  the  hands  of  committees. 
For  instance,  to  the  committees  on  Indian  affairs  in 
Senate  and  House  are  referred  all  bills  introduced 
touching  that  business.  The  committee  examines  each 
one  and  brings  before  its  respective  house  those  upon 
which  it  deems  best  to  recommend  action.  The  com- 
mittee itself,  also,  may  frame  a  bill  which  it  recom- 
mends to  be  made  law.  This  recommendation  is  called 
a  Report.  So  the  Report  of  a  committee  is  usually, 
but  not  invariably,  on  a  bill  or  resolution  which  it  sub- 
mits, or  reports  favorably,  or  favorably  with  amend- 
ments, or  reports  adversely. 

Committee  Reports  of  the  United  States  Congress, 
mostly  from  one  to  only  a  few  pages  in  length,  have  al- 
ways been  most  unsatisfactorily  treated  as  regards  their 
titles.  A  catchword  heading  in  prominent  type  runs 
across  the  top  of  the  first  page  above  the  text  of  the 
Report.  This  catchword  heading  usually  is  inadequate 
to  convey  more  than  the  merest  inkling,  if  that,  of  the 
subject  matter  of  the  Report.  Below  this  are  the  name 
of  the  member  who  presents  the  Report ;  the  name  of 
the  committee  that  makes  it ;  the  word  "  Report " ; 
and  the  house  and  number,  but  not  the  title,  of  the  bill 
that  the  Report  "  accompanies,"  as  the  phrase  on  the 
bill  reads.  Somewhere  in  the  body  of  the  Report  one 
is  told  whether  it  amends,  favors,  or  is  adverse  to  the 
bill.     Recently    the    larger    Reports    are    provided    with 

24  See,   before.   Government   organization  and   terminology,   p.    113. 

140 


Reports  of  Committees  141 

title-pages,  but  the  titles  on  them  are  not  yet  framed  ac- 
cording to  any  system. 

Now,  the  subject  matter  of  a  Report  is  that  of  the 
bill  it  accompanies.  And  the  subject  matter  of  a  bill 
is  stated  in  its  title,  which  describes  it  according  to  the 
best  judgment  of  its  framers,  or,  perhaps,  of  the  print- 
ing clerk.  A  satisfactory  statement  of  what  the  Report 
is  about  will  thus  be  best  secured  by  quoting  the  title 
of  the  bill.  If  this  title  be  inadequate  to  convey  an 
idea  of  the  subject  matter  of  the  bill,  still,  it  is  right 
here,  by  supplementing  and  defining  the  title  according 
as  an  index-analysis  of  laws  would  require  the  purport 
of  the  bill  to  be  stated,  that  adequacy  of  statement  as  to 
what  the  Report  is  about  is  most  properly  supplied. 
Here,  by  stating  clearly  in  its  title  the  purport  of  the  bill, 
is  the  chance  to  secure  a  clear,  adequate  title  for  the  Re- 
port itself.  A  Report  title  should  include  ( i )  the  com- 
mitee  making  the  Report;  (2)  the  kind  of  recommenda- 
tion made;  (3)  house  and  number  of  the  bill;  (4)  title  of 
the  bill  (with  addition  of  any  explanatory  words  needed)  ; 
(5)  the  member  presenting  the  Report.  Such  a  Re- 
port  title    would   read :     "  Report    from   the   committee 

sul^mitting 

favoring 

amending 

adverse  to 

of  Mrs.  H.  P.  Porter;  presented  by  H.  A.  Du  Pont."" 
Or :  "  Report  from  the  committee  on  the  District  of 
Columbia  amending  S.3813,  to  require  street  railroad 
companies  in  the  District  of  Columbia  to  issue  free 
transfers;  presented  by  J.  H.  Gallinger."  In  both 
these  examples  the  phrase  following  the  bill  number 
might  be  in  quotation  marks,  as  it  is  the  title  printed 
on  the  bill  itself.  Using  the  bill  title  gives  system  and 
certainty  and  uniformity  to  the  titles  of  the  Reports, 
and  if  the  printing  clerks  of  Senate  and  House  could  be 
induced  to  adopt  a  Report  title  on  some  such  system  as 
that  outlined  above,  to  include  the  title  of  the  bill,  it 


on  pensions    -< 


S.I  1 8,   to  increase  pension 


142  Reports  of  Committees 

would  give  us  good  riddance  of  the  hastily  patched  up 
catchword  heading  title  now  used.  The  Documents  Of- 
fice saw  this  when,  under  F.  A.  Crandall  and  the  present 
writer,  it  made  up  its  rules  and  system  of  cataloging; 
and  the  entry  for  Reports  that  we  see  in  the  Document 
Catalogs  is,  in  fact,  made  up  of  these  essential  items. 
However,  beginning  December,  191 5,  a  change  has  been 
made  in  the  Document  Catalog,  so  that  the  entry  now 
includes  also  the  catchword  heading.  It  thus  approxi- 
mates more  closely  the  title  for  Reports  used  by  the 
Library  of  Congress  on  its  printed  cards,  which  copies 
faithfully  Avhat  is  found  printed  on  the  Report  itself. 
But  this  new  form  of  Document  Catalog  title  omits 
telling  whether  the  Report  favors,  amends,  or  is  ad- 
verse to  the  bill,  and  this  information  is  important  to 
persons  depending  on  the  catalogs  for  information.  If 
the  phra?e  now  printed  on  the  Reports :  "  To  ac- 
company  r- ,"   could   be   changed  to  "  Recommend- 

^      •'     bill  no.  ° 

ing  pyi ,"    or    "  Recommending    with    amendments 

,"  or  "  Adverse  to  t-ttj — — ,"  or  some  such  phrase 


bill  no.  '  bill  no. 

stating  the  action  taken  on  the  bill  by  the  committee,  it 
would,  with  the  addition  of  the  bill  title  above  asked  for, 
make  a  title  for  the  Reports  according  to  a  system,  de- 
pendable and  satisfactory  to  catalogers  and  those  who 
look  in  the  catalog  for  knowledge,  and  simpler  and 
quicker  for  the  printing  clerk  to  make  up. 

Committee  Reports  are  numbered  consecutively  as 
they  arrive  at  the  Printing  Office,  separately  for  each 
house,  from  beginning  to  end  of  a  Congress.  The 
essential  items  to  identify  or  quote  a  Report  with  exact- 
ness are  the  eight  designations ;  ^^  or,  as  the  Report  num- 
bers have  been  continuous  through  all  sessions  of  a 
Congress  from  the  47th  down,  the  session  may  be 
omitted  for  Congresses  later  than  the  47th.-^  An  ex- 
ample is:    U.  S.  60th  Congress,  ist  session,  House  Re- 

25  See,  before,   Legislative  Publications:     Serially  Numbered   Set,  p.    124. 

26  See  Checklist,  p.  xx. 


Reports  of  Committees  143 

port  1351.  In  V.  2;  5226.  The  calendar  number  that 
is  printed  on  Reports  is  a  mere  temporary  item  of  rou- 
tine business  and  not  essential.  The  importance  of  the 
name  of  the  senator  or  representative  who  presents  the 
Report  is  in  proportion  as  he  is  a  commanding  and  well 
known  statesman,  but  dwindles  in  importance  as  time  ad- 
vances. 

Since  the  act  of  January  20,  1905,  committee  Re- 
ports on  private  bills  and  on  simple  and  concurrent 
resolutions  are  separ?.ted  from  those  on  public  bills  and 
joint  resolutions,  and  treated  differently.  They  are 
collected  in  volumes  by  themselves  which  are  lettered 
volume  A,  B,  and  C,  instead  of  volume  i,  2,  and  3.  These 
lettered  volumes  are  not  sent  to  depository  libraries,  only 
345  copies  being  printed.  This  makes  two  separate  files 
of  the  volumes  of  Reports,  the  numbered  file  and  the  let- 
tered file,  while  the  Reports  themselves  are  numbered  in 
one  series  chronologically.  Thus  the  numerical  order  of 
the  Reports  is  interrupted,  so  that  there  are  gaps  in  the 
numbering  inside  both  lettered  and  numbered  volumes. 
The  lettered  volumes  which  no  library  receives  are  still 
assigned  serial  numbers.  The  disadvantages  of  this 
have  been  already  explained. 


VII 

Documents 

The  scries  of  Senate  and  House  Documents  form  the 
great  bulk  of  the  Congressional  set.  For  this  reason 
the  general  consideration  given  to  the  set  under  General : 
\\'hy  Bewildering:  topic  6,  and  under  Legislative  Pub- 
lications :  Serially  Numbered  Set,  applies  mostly  to  the 
Documents  and  has  forestalled  largely  all  that  needs  to  be 
said  about  them.  But  the  salient  fact  of  the  two  series  of 
Senate  and  House  Documents  is  that  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  them  in  bulk  and  a  less  proportion  by  number 
do  not  belong  in  the  series  at  all,  being  publications,  not 
of  Congress,  but  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  other  significant  fact  is  that  almost  all  of 
these,  if  not  every  one.  are  already  in  print  in  a  plain 
title  edition  before  their  republication  as  House  or  Sen- 
ate Documents.  It  is  in  this  original  form,  in  Part  HI, 
Executive  Publications,  that  information  about  these 
should  be  sought. 

Among  the  Documents  that  are  genuine  publications 
of  Congress,  of  the  nine  groups  before  mentioned,-^ 
some  are  issued  annually  or  occasionally.  Such  are 
the  reports  of  its  officers ;  the  Congressional  Directory ; 
the  manuals  of  rules ;  the  tables  of  estimates,  of  re- 
ceipts and  expenditures,  and  other  statements  of  ac- 
counts. Regularly  recurring  Documents  are  obituary 
addresses  and  Presidents'  messages.  Others  due  to  ap- 
pear in  fresh  editions  from  time  to  time  are  compila- 
tions of  contested  election  cases,  and  of  precedents  of 
parliamentary  practice,  of  which  Hinds,^^  in  eight  vol- 

27  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  C,  p.  75. 
:i8  See  Checklist,  p.  1493. 

144 


Documents  145 

umes,  is  the  latest,  and  the  Biographical  Congressional 
Directory.-"-' 

'  But  each  session  there  are  printed  very  many  sepa- 
rate Documents,  the  majority  of  the  length  of  a  maga- 
zine article,  but  varying  indefinitely  in  size,  multiplex  of 
topic  as  can  be  imagined,  but  these  topics  of  live  current 
interest,  and  the  Documents  most  interesting  and  desirable 
to  libraries  and  the  public.  These  mostly  make  up,  of  the 
nine  groups  that  have  been  before  mentioned,  "  all  the 
various  papers  presented  on  the  floor  of  either  house 
to  elucidate  its  debates."  A  glance  over  the  con- 
tents of  one  of  the  volumes  entitled,  "  Documents  of  a 
Public  Nature,"  makes  one  suspect  that  Congress  in  its 
printing  has  in  mind  also  its  distribution  privileges, 
and  prints  for  a  benevolent  propaganda  of  right  think- 
ing and  popular  instruction.  Large  editions  of  such 
Documents  as  Professor  Irving  Fisher's  "  National  Vi- 
tality, its  Waste  and  Conservation,"  ^°  articles  or 
speeches  by  leading  statesmen  and  experts,  even  reprints 
of  agricultural  bulletins  and  those  of  the  Education  Bu- 
reau, seem  to  have  this  excuse  for  being  issued  as  Docu- 
ments. The  so-called  "  Jefferson's  Bible,"  ^^  of  which 
Congress  printed  and  distributed  9,000  copies  in  1904, 
is  an  extreme  instance  of  this  kind.  But  to  these  one 
can  only  call  the  attention  of  readers  as  a  treasury  which 
it  is  hoped  they  will  not  fail  to  use.  It  is  of  course  as 
impossible  to  give  any  account  in  detail  of  what  is  or 
will  be  printed  among  this  class  of  Documents  as  of  the 
contents  of  next  month's  magazines. 

Of  valuable  publications  of  Congress  in  the  past  may 
be  mentioned  the  Journals  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress ;  ^-  Elliott's  Debates  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion of  1787 ;  ^^  and  the  chain  of  four  successive  publi- 
cations of  which  the  Congressional  Record  ^*  forms  the 
latest  link. 

29  See  Checklist,  p.    1491.  32  See  Checklist,  p.   1673. 

30  See  Checklist,  p.  1624.  33  See  Checklist,   p.   1668. 

31  See  Checklist,  p.  877.  34  See  Checklist,  p.    1463. 


146  Documents 

Publications  of  commissions  and  boards  of  mixed 
Congressional  and  non-Congressional  personnel  are,  as 
has  been  said,  grouped  here  with  executive  publications. 
The  aim  of  this  little  work,  it  may  be  said  finally,  is  other 
than  to  provide  a  descriptive  list  of  government  pub- 
lications. The  Checklist  supplies  that,  authoritative  and 
complete,  and  the  Monthly  and  other  catalogs  continue 
it.  Other  works  given  in  the  appended  bibliography 
may  also  be  used. 


PART  III 

Executive  Publications 


I 

General 

The  early  days  of  our  republic  saw  a  jealously  re- 
stricted central  government.  Development  of  each  state 
as  an  isolated,  self-sufficient  commonwealth  was  re- 
garded as  the  bulwark  of  a  free  country  against  concen- 
tration of  autocratic  power.  In  those  days  almost  the 
sole  national  body  on  which  all  eyes  were  fixed  was  the 
Congress.  The  publications  of  the  national  government 
were  few  in  number,  and  it  was  taken  for  granted  that 
everything  published   emanated   from   Congress. 

The  nineteenth  century  saw  —  and  the  movement 
goes  steadily  forward  in  the  twentieth  century  —  what 
has  been  almost  a  revolution  in  economic  conditions, 
which  has  profoundly  modified  political  institutions. 
Economically,  it  has  seen  a  vast  extension  of  territory ; 
undreamed  of  expansion  of  transportation  facilities ;  the 
breaking  down  of  state  lines  in  the  growth  of  popula- 
tion and  business ;  and  the  merging  of  state  interests  in 
broad  problems  requiring  national  care  and  control. 
Politically,  it  has  witnessed  an  enormous  extension  in 
the  field  of  what  is  entrusted  to  government  agencies  to 
carry  on.  With  this  increase  in  governmental  func- 
tions there  has  come  into  existence  in  our  federal  gov- 
ernment, in  total  reversal  of  the  ideals  of  early  years,  a 
vast  centralized  administrative  organization  having  no 
connection  with  nor  dependence  upon  Congress  except 
for  its  legal  existence  and  appropriations.  This  or- 
ganization is  carried  out  in  a  scientific  and  expert  de- 
tail which  would  surprise  those  who  have  never  given 
it  a  thought.^     It  embraces  an  intricate   framework  of 

1  Pamphlets  prepared  by  different  departments  or  bureaus  specially  for 
the  public,  sometimes  as  part  of  an  exposition  exhibit,  describing  their  work, 

149 


150 


General 


bureaus,  divisions,  sections,  and  individual  officials,  each 
with  a  specialized  task  of  investigation  or  action,  of 
which  the  minutiae  can  only  be  hinted  at  here,  and  which 
is  only  sketched  out  broadly  in  the  subjoined  taljle.  The 
best  example  of  this  specialized  organization  is  per- 
haps the  Department  of  Agriculture,  the  most  wholly 
scientific  and  technical  of  any  of  the  ten  departments, 
or,  as  the  encyclopedia  states  it,  of  any  government  de- 
partment in  the  world. 

As  the  publications  of  the  government  are  simply  one 
phase  of  its  activities,  the  result  is  that  today  the  output 
of  the  Government  Printing  Office  for  the  administra- 
tive bodies  is  twice  or  three  times  the  amount  of  that 
done  for  Congress,  even  with  that  body's  lavish  print- 
ing.    And   this  preponderance   is   constantly   increasing. 

As  to  subject,  the  literary  output  of  the  executive 
bodies  reflects  the  multifarious  activities  of  the  bodies 
themselves,  activities  which  enter  into  the  private  as 
well  as  the  public  life  of  every  citizen.  The  works  issued 
run  the  gamut  from  breadmaking  and  infant  nursing  to 
world  politics  and  stellar  physics.  As  to  form  and 
size,  they  range  from  the  leaflet  of  a  single  paragraph 
or  a  few  pages  —  such  as  are  the  slip  laws,  single  orders 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  or  the  service 
and  regulatory  announcements  of  the  Federal  Horti- 
cultural Board  and  other  such  bodies  —  to  long  sets  of 
elaborate  works  like  the  Harriman  Alaska  expedition, 
or  voluminous  reports  of  commissions,  like  the  Immi- 
gration Commission,  so  often  before  mentioned  as  typi- 
cal. They  may  take  the  form  of  a  scientific  periodica', 
like  the  Journal   of   Agricultural   Research ;   or   of   the 

often  give  organization  and  functions  more  in  detail  than  can  be  found 
elsewhere.  A  good  example  is  U.  S.  Chemistry  Bureau,  Circular  14;  Or- 
ganization and  work  of  the  Chemistry  Bureau.  Rev.  to  July  i,  1909. 
Others  are  given  in  Bibliography:  General:  Publishing  bodies'  lists  of 
their   own    publications. 

The  Congressional  Directory  also  describes  the  official  duties  and  enumer- 
ates the  personnel  of  the  executive  bodies,  though  not  always  without 
omissions  and  lapses.  For  a  good  skeleton  outline  of  the  bodies  and  their 
subordination  see  the  Official  Register  published  by  the  Census  Bureau, 
table  of   contents. 


General  151 

light  illustrated  folders  advertising  the  nation's  play- 
grounds, the  national  parks ;  or  of  such  series  of  circu- 
lars or  bulletins  as  the  daily  Commerce  Reports  or  the 
Farmers'  Bulletins. 

The  impossibility  that  such  an  aggregation  of  litera- 
ture, of  which  the  variety  is  here  but  faintly  described, 
can  be  satisfactorily  used  or  handled  en  bloc  is  now  al- 
most universally  recognized.  It  must  be  studied  and 
known  just  as  English  drama  or  modern  fiction  in  Eng- 
lish are  known.  One  must  acquaint  oneself  not  only 
with  each  individual  publishing  body,  but  more,  with 
each  set  or  series  of  reports,  of  bulletins  or  circulars,, 
with  each  periodical,  each  single  leaflet  or  work.  As 
well  shelve  and  use  Everyman's  Library  as  a  special  de- 
partment of  the  library  as  try  to  place  all  this  diversi- 
fied literature  of  the  United  States  publishing  bodies  in 
one  group  and  know  the  works  as  so  many  "  pub. 
docs."  In  reality,  this  latter  would  be  a  much  greater 
offense  against  the  principle  of  subject  arrangement 
and  show  a  grosser  ignorance  than  the  former. 

How  may  one  acquire  this  intimate  individual  ac- 
quaintance with  the  government  publications?  As  is 
true  in  every  department  of  bibliographical  knowledge, 
nothing  w'ill  take  the  place  of  first  hand  examination  of 
the  publications  themselves.  The  difficulties  put  in  the 
way  of  gaining  clear  and  exact  ideas  of  many  executive 
publications  by  their  being  printed  in  the  Documents  series 
of  Senate  and  House,  confusing  the  non-Congressional 
with  the  Congressional,  have  been  shown.  When  this,  a 
trouble-making  practice  that  has  been  partly  abolished, 
is  wholly  done  away  with,  many  difficulties  will  vanish. 

It  has  already  been  explained  that  it  is  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  little  book  to  provide  a  bibliographical  ref- 
erence list  of  publications,  or  to  serve  as  a  manual  sup- 
plying exact  detailed  information  concerning  each. 
Specific  descriptive  lists  may  be  found  in  other  works 
than  this.  The  Checklist  especially  may  be  regarded  as 
the  continuation  work  to  take  up  after  and  in  connec- 


152  General 

tion  with  this  work  in  the  study  of  the  national  publica- 
tions. That  the  Checklist  breaks  off  at  the  end  of  1909 
becomes  more  and  more  a  disadvanatge  as  we  leave  that 
date  more  in  the  background,  although  the  Monthly 
Catalog  serves,  in  segments,  as  its  continuation.  Ever- 
hart,  Handbook  of  United  States  Public  Documents, 
will  help,  though  it  describes  the  publications  only  in  a 
general  way,  and  requires  verification  or  correction 
in  every  statement  because  of  changes  in  administrative 
organization  since  its  printing.  The  series  of  Docu- 
ment Catalogs  is,  of  course,  the  complete  and  rapid 
reference  guide  to  everything  printed.  Also,  the  Price 
Lists  of  the  Documents  Office,  which  are  alphabetical 
by  subjects,  analytical,  and  include  back  pubHcations, 
give  valuable  first  aid  to  one  who  would  find  subject 
material  in  the  documents.  Sixty-eight  of  these  have 
been  issued  to  date  of  writing. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  four  groups  of  publications 
used  by  the  CheckHst  under  each  publishing  body. 
These  are : —  (i)  annual  reports;  (2)  bulletin  series;  ^3) 
circular  series,  the  circulars  being  generally  smaller 
than  the  bulletins;  and  (4)  general  publications,  namely, 
everything  not  belonging  in  one  of  the  first  three  groups, 
most  of  them  separate,  distinct  works. 

Generally  speaking,  every  administrative  body  is  re- 
quired by  law  to  make  report  to  the  office  next  above  it 
in  rank  at  the  end  of  each  governmental  or  so-called 
fiscal  year,  the  year  running  from  July  ist  to  the  follow- 
ing June  30th.  Minor  reports  may,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  superior  office,  not  go  into  print.  These  annual  re- 
ports are  on  the  administrative  work  done.-  One  nota- 
ble exception  is  the  State  Department,  whose  annual 
report  on  foreign  relations  contains  nothing  but  the 
diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  year.  The  treaties,  it 
must  be  remembered,  are  not  in  these  volumes,  but  are 
published  with  the  laws,  as  told  under  that  head. 

2  See,  for  list.  Reports  to  be  made  to  Congress.  (H.  Doc.  1407,  64th. 
Cong.,  2d  sess.)     This  list  is  now  printed  each  session. 


General  153 

The  following  list  includes  only  "  executive  depart- 
ments, independent  offices  and  establishments,"  and 
does  not  mention  all  of  these,  as  it  omits  some  which  be- 
long in  that  grade,  but  which  are  of  slight  general  in- 
terest, for  example,  the  National  Home  for  Disabled 
Volunteer  Soldiers.  The  table  is  given  as  a  base  exer- 
cise, a  key  list  of  twenty-two  executive  bodies  of  inde- 
pendent rank.  Many  bodies  of  secondary  and  subordi- 
nate rank,  and  therefore  not  included,  e.g.,  the  Educa- 
tion Bureau,  are  of  more  general  interest  than  some  of 
those  that  are  included  in  this  list  because  of  being  of 
the  highest  and  independent  rank.  But  if  this  list  is 
committed  to  memory  it  will  serve  as  a  skeleton  struc- 
ture, a  sort  of  spinal  column  for  the  memory,  so  to 
speak,  into  which  may  be  fitted  the  subordinate  bodies 
as  they  are  learned,  according  as  they  belong  under 
each  on  the  list. 

*  Agriculture  department  II  Library  of  Congress 

t  Civil  service  commission  II  National  academy  of  sciences 

*  Commerce  department  *  Navy  department 

t  District  of  Columbia  t  Pan  American  union 

t  Federal  reserve  board  *  Post-office  department 

t  Federal  trade  commission  t  Postal  savings  system 

II  Government  printing  office  II  Smithsonian  institution 

*  Interior  department  *  State  department 
t  Interstate  commerce  commis-  t  Tariflf  commission 

sion  *  Treasury  department 

*  Justice  department  *  War  department 

*  Labor  department 

*  One  of  the   lo  executive  departments, 
t  Independent  offices. 
II  Establishments. 


Publishing  Bodies  of  the  United  States 
Government  Classed  by  their  Specialties 
according  to  the  Decimal  Classification 

The  subjoined  table  ^  is  a  bird's-eye  view  or  sample 
list  of  the  fields  in  which  the  various  government  bodies 
are  publishing.  It  is  given  on  the  chance  that  it  may 
help  some  persons,  and  because  there  is  nothing  in  print 
that  provides  a  survey  of  the  publications  from  this 
viewpoint.  On  the  plan  of  the  "  Sponsors  for  knowl- 
edge "  which  Mr.  G.  W.  Lee  has  provided  for  us  in  the 
Library  Journal,  it  gives,  under  various  class  numbers 
of  the  Decimal  classification,  the  government  bodies 
which  may  be  expected  to  be  publishing  material  in  that 
field,  such  being  within  the  scope  of  their  legalized  ac- 
tivities. Except  that  it  is  intended  to  omit  none,  this 
table  is  admittedly  sketchy,  tentative,  and  inexact.  It 
is  so  unavoidably  open  to  criticism  that  all  fault  found 
with  it  is  cheerfully  accepted  in  advance  as  probably 
having  good  reason.  It  is  also  liable  to  the  errors,  in- 
evitable in  everything  written  about  government  bodies 
and  their  publications,  which  arise  from  the  changes  con- 
stantly going  on  among  them. 

As  a  conspectus  of  present-day  publishing  activities 
it  is  debarred  from  giving  credit  to  any  government 
body  for  work  done  in  the  past,  as,  for  instance,  to  the 
Signal  Office  for  its  pioneer  work  in  meteorology,  which 
now  the  Weather  Bureau  has  been  created  to  perform. 
It  sets  its  face  toward  the  future,  and  may  be  called  a 
table    of    probabilities    or    expectations    in    government 

3  It  has  been  a  question  how  far  to  make  an  effort  to  include  the  various 
war  boards  and  committees  now  being  so  rapidly  created,  of  which  as  yet 
even  the  accepted  name  is  uncertain;  most  of  which  have  not  published 
and  possibly  never  will  publish  anything.  But  some  of  these  have  been 
included. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       155 

publications.  No  body  not  now  existent  is  admitted; 
nor  any  merely  temporary,  thus  excluding  the  special 
commissions  which  expire  when  their  work  is  done.  It 
rules  out  all  sporadic  works,  not  likely  to  be  reissued, 
such  as  the  "  Jefferson's  Bible  " ;  nor  is  material  form- 
ing parts  of  works  taken  into  account.  As  a  list  of 
standing  and  permanent  sources  of  knowledge  only,  it 
cannot  take  in  the  diversified  Documents  and  Reports, 
nor  bills  and  laws,  nor  the  debates  of  Congress,  al- 
though on  many  live  topics,  such  as  the  agitation  for 
national  prohibition  and  national  woman's  suffrage,  these 
are  the  only  and  prolific  government  sources  of  mate- 
rial. Some  attempt  has  been  made  to  state  the  com- 
mittees in  Senate  and  House  which  have  in  charge  spe- 
cial kinds  of  business. 

A  government  body  is  listed  in  the  table  under  a 
specific  subject  either  (i)  because  of  some  particular 
work  that  it  issues  at  consecutive  periods,  or  (2)  be- 
cause its  publications  in  general  deal  with  the  topic. 
For  instance,  the  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce  Bu- 
reau issues  the  annual  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  therefore  listed  under  317.3.  The  pub- 
lications of  the  Animal  Industry  Bureau  are  in  general 
concerned  with  domestic  animals,  and  the  bureau  there- 
fore appears  under  636.  In  most  cases  the  department 
also,  in  its  own  publications,  provides  material  on  the 
special  work  of  its  different  bureaus.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  the  Agriculture  Department  in  its  series  of  Bulle- 
tins, Yearbooks,  etc.  The  department  therefore  is  also 
listed,  together  with  the  bureau,  under  the  special  topic 
covered  by  the  bureau. 

Within  such  a  large  field  as,  e.g.,  660,  Chemical  tech- 
nology, the  minor  topic,  664.8,  Foods :  Preservation,  etc., 
is  brought  out  in  order  to  mention  bodies  not  before 
mentioned  that  publish  in  this  division  of  the  field. 
Other  minor  topics,  such  as  665.7,  Illuminating  gas, 
are  not  brought  out,  as  they  would  bring  to  the  table 
only  repetition  of  the  list  of  publishing  bodies  already 


156       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

named  under  the  main  class,  Chemical  technology. 
Under  Foods:  Preservation,  etc.,  there  is  repetition  of 
the  bodies  named  under  the  main  class,  so  as  to  make 
the  list  of  bodies  publishing  on  the  subject  complete 
under  that  number,  as  it  is  meant  to  be  under  every 
class  number. 

There  is  under  each  subject  an  attempt  at  arrange- 
ment according  to  the  amount  and  importance  of  the 
printed  output,  putting  first  those  bodies  that  make  the 
greatest  contributions.  Under  what  higher  body  each 
body  on  tlie  Hst  belongs  is  indicated  (in  curves  follow- 
ing) only  in  cases  where  the  name  is  duplicated,  to  dis- 
tinguish between  two  of  the  same  name.  These  higher 
bodies  can  be  easily  found  in  the  Author  Headings  for 
United  States  Government  Documents,  or  in  the  tables 
at  the  end  of  the  Document  Catalogs. 

Finally,  as  in  this  table  no  notice  is  taken  of  parts  of 
books,  e.g.,  a  section  on  infantile  paralysis  in  the  report 
of  the  Public  Health  Service,  it  can  not  fill  the  place  of 
the  Document  Catalogs,  which  give  detailed  entry  of 
everything  the  government  has  published  on  a  specific 
subject  during  a  given  period;  nor  of  the  Price  Lists, 
which  give  subject  references  less  detailed,  but  covering 
everything  in  print.  If  it  enlarges  its  readers'  concep- 
tions of  the  vast  field  that  the  publications  of  the  execu- 
tive branch  of  the  United  States  government  cover,  it 
will  have  served  one  worthy  purpose.  Whether  it  will 
in  any  way  aid  classifiers  in  libraries  to  sort  out  these 
publications  and  put  them  where  they  will  be  most  useful, 
is  for  the  individual  classifier  to  decide. 


010.  Bibliography. 

Library  of  Congress. 

013.  Bibliography  of  American  doctoral  dissertations. 

Catalog  division  (Library  of  Congress). 

016.  Subject  bibliographies.  > 

Bibliography  division  (Library  of  Congress). 

Note. —  Publishes  bibliographies  on  all  sorts  of  sub- 
jects. Most  of  the  other  bodies  listed  here  publish 
bibliographical   material    on   the   subjects    in   which 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       157 

they  specialize,  e.  g.,  educational  bibliography  by 
the  Education  bureau,  etc.  No  mention  other  than 
this  note  will  be  made  of  such  material. 

oiCo?  I    Bibliography  of  periodicals  and  newspapers. 
Periodical  division  (Library  of  Congress). 

016.353.     Bibliography  of  United  States  government  publications. 

Documents  office. 

See  also  655.59,  Government  printing. 

016.3539.  Bibliography  of  state  official  publications. 

Documents  division   (Library  of  Congress). 

016.355.     Bibliography  of  military  information. 
War  college  division. 

016.61.       Bibliography  of  medicine. 

Medical  department   (Army). 

016.63.       Bibliography  of  agriculture. 

Library  (Agriculture  dept.). 
Publications  division  (Agriculture  dept.). 

016.912.     Bibliography  of  maps  and  charts. 

Maps  and  charts  division  (Library  of  Congress). 

020.  Library  science. 

Library  of  Congress. 

027.  Libraries. 

Education  bureau. 

027.5.  Library  of  Congress. 

Library  joint  committee   (Congress). 

028.  Book  selection  and  reading  courses. 

Education  bureau. 
Library  of  Congress. 

029.6.  Preparation  of  manuscript  for  publication. 

Geological  survey. 

See  also  655.53,  Typographical  style. 

070.14.       News  censorship. 

Public  information  committee. 

09c.  Book  rarities. 

Library  of  Congress. 

091.  Manuscripts. 

Manuscripts  division   (Library  of  Congress). 

3.32.    ,     .Mental  diseases. 

Saint    Elizabeth's    hospital     [Formerly    Government 

hospital  for  the  insane]. 
Public  health  service. 
Children's  bureau. 
Medical  department   (Army). 
•  Census  bureau.   ■      . 

136.7.  Child  study. 

Education  bureau. 
Children's  bureau. 


158       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Class>l..w_ 

172.4.         International  arbitration.     Peace. 

Permanent  court  of  arbitration,  The  Hague. 
Education  bureau. 

178.4.         Liquor  traffic. 

Kducation  bureau  (Temperance  instruction). 

Internal  revenue  commisijioncr. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Alcoholic  liquor  traffic  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

See  also  336.27,  Special  taxes ;  663,  Beverages,  Fer- 
mented and  distilled. 

178.8.         Stimulants  and  narcotics. 

See  615.9,  Poisons  and  habit-forming  drugs. 

280.  Religious  bodies  in  the  United  States. 

Census  bureau. 

299.7.        North  American  Indians :  Religious  customs. 
Ethnology  bureau. 

317.3.         Statistics  of  the  United  States. 
Census  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Census  committee  (Senate). 
Census  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

Note. —  Statistics  of  special   subjects  are  also  sup- 
plied by  each  government  body  in  its  special  field. 

324.3.        Woman  su  ft  rage. 

Woman  suffrage  committee  (Senate). 

325.1.        Immigration. 

Immigration  bureau. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Immigration  committee  (Senate). 

Immigration  and  naturalization  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

325.1.        Naturalization. 

Naturalization  bureau. 
Immigration  committee  (Senate). 
Immigration  and  naturalization  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  371.98,  Education  of  the  foreign-born. 

327.  Foreign  relations.     Diplomatic  and  consular  service. 

State  department. 
President. 

Foreign  relations  committee  (Senate). 
Canadian  relations  committee   (Senate). 
Foreign  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See    also    341,    International    law;    9^.3,    United 
States :   Boundaries. 

328.1.         Parliamentary  law. 

Rules  committee  (Senate). 
Rules  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

328.73.      Legislative  proceedings  of  the  United_  States, 
Congress. 

331.  Labor. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       159 

Labor  department. 

Education  and  labor  committee  (Senate). 

Labor  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

331. 1.  Capital  and  labor. 

Mediation  and  conciliation  board. 

331.2.  Wages. 

Eight-hour  commission. 

331.25.      Industrial  insurance.     Workmen's  compensation. 
Employees'  compensation  commission. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Labor  department. 
Solicitor  of  Labor  department. 
Public  health  service. 
See  also  339,  Poor  relief;  368,  Insurance. 

331.3.  Child  labor. 

Children's  bureau. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Education  bureau. 

See  also  362.7,  Children :  Charities.    Delinquents. 

331.5.        Convict  labor. 

United  States  penitentiaries  commission  (or  Commis- 
sion on  equipping  United  States  penitentiaries  for 
manufacturing  articles  used  by  government). 

332.  Banking. 

Federal  reserve  board. 
Comptroller  of  the  currency. 
Federal  farm  loan  bureau. 
Banking  and  currency  committee  (Senate). 
National  banks  committee  (Senate). 
Banking  and  currency  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  332.2,  Savings  banks. 

332.  Money. 

Treasury  department. 
Loans  and  currency  division. 
Public  moneys  division. 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 
Register  of  the  Treasury. 

See  also  332.4,  Coin  money;  332.5,  Paper  money. 

332.2.         Savings  banks. 

Postal  savings  system. 
Postal  savings  division. 
See  also  332,  Banking. 

332.32.       Building  and  loan  associations. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 

332.4.  Coin  money. 

Mint  bureau. 

Assay  commission. 

Treasury  department. 

Comptroller  of  the  currency. 

Finance  committee  (Senate). 

Coinage,  w^eights,  and  measures  committee  (H.  of  R.). 


i6o       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

332.5.         Paper  money. 

Comptroller  of  the  currency. 
Engraving  and  printnig  bureau. 

232.7,         Agricultural  credits. 

Federal  farm  loan  bureau. 

Agriculture  department. 

Rural  credits  joint  committee   (Congress). 

233.  Conservation  of  natural  resources. 

States  relations  service. 

Conservation  of  national  resources  committee    (Sen- 
ate). 
Council  of  national  defense. 
National  research  committee. 

334.  Cooperative  undertakings. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 

336.1.  Public  lands. 

General  land  office. 

Geological  survey. 

Justice  department. 

Public  lands  committee  (Senate). 

Public  lands  committee   (H.  of  R.). 

See  also  338.2,  Mineral  products:  613.75,  National 

parks    and    reservations:    634.9,    Forestry;    913.7, 

Antiquities  of  North  Ainerica. 

336.2.  Taxation.     Customs.     Revenue. 

Finance  committee  (Senate). 

Ways  and  means  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

336.26.  Import  duties. 

See  337,  Import  duties. 

236.27.  Special  taxes  (e.  g.,  income,  liquor,  stamp,  etc.). 

Internal  revenue  commissioner. 
Treasury  department. 
Solicitor  of  internal  revenue. 

See  also  178.4,  Liquor  traffic;  663,  Beverages,  Fer- 
mented and  distilled. 

336.3.  Bonds.     Public  debt,  etc. 

Treasury  department. 
Loans  and  currency  division. 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 
Register  of  the  treasury. 
Government  actuary. 

336.73.      Finances  of  the  United  States. 
Treasury  department. 
Census  bureau. 

Appropriations  committee  (Senate). 
Appropriations  committee   (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  336.3,  Bonds.     Public  debt,  etc. 

237.  Import  duties. 

Tariff  commission. 
Customs  division. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       i6i 

Appraisers. 

Court  of  customs  appeals. 

Treasury  department. 

Foreign    and    domestic    commerce    bureau     (Foreign 

tariffs). 
Finance  committee  (Senate). 
Ways  and  means  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

338.  Production.     Manufactures.     Prices. 

Federal  trade  commission. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Commercial  economy  board. 
Census  bureau. 
Manufactures  committee  (Senate). 

See    also    380,    Commerce.     Transportation.     Com- 
munication. 

338.1.        Agricultural  products. 

Crop  estimates  bureau. 

Markets  bureau. 

Agriculture  department. 

Federal  horticultural  board. 

Federal  farm  loan  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 

Chemistry  bureau. 

Census  bureau. 

Agriculture  and  forestry  committee  (Senate). 

Agriculture  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

338.1.  Lumber  and  forest  products  (e.  g.,  turpentine,  tan  bark,, 

etc.). 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Forest  service. 
General  land  office  (Almost  exclusively  on  the  public 

domain). 
Census  bureau.    - 
Pan  American  union. 
Agriculture  and  forestry  committee  (Senate). 

See   also   634.9,   Forestry;   674,    Manufactures   of 

wood ;  676,  Paper  making. 

338.1         Meat  supply. 

Animal  industry  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Crop  estimates  bureau. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 

Transportation  and  sale  of  meat  products  committee 
(Senate). 

338.2.  Mineral  products  (Includes  stones,  mineral  earths,  min- 

eral oils,  etc.). 
Mines  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
General  land  office. 
Interior  department. 


i62      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  ClassiRcation 

Mines  and  mining  committee  (Senate). 
Mines  and  mining  committee   (11.    of    R.). 

See    also    662.6,    Coal.     Peat.     Coke.     Natural    gas. 

Denatured    alcohol;    665.4-5,    Mineral    oils.     As- 

phaltum. 

338.3.  Water  products  (Fisheries,     Sponges). 

Fisheries  bureau. 
Fisheries  committee  (Senate). 

Merchant  marine  and  lisheries  committee  (11.  of  R.). 
See  also  581.92,  Marine  plants;  639,  Fisheries. 

338.4.  Manufactured  articles. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Census  bureau. 

Manufactures  committee   (Senate). 

Industrial  arts  and  expositions  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  660,  Chemical  technology ;  670,  Manufac- 
tures ;  664.8,  Foods :  Preservation ;  Canning ; 
Cold  storage. 

338.5.  Prices.     Cost  of  living. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

338.8.        Monopolies.     Trusts. 

Federal  trade  commission. 

Justice  department. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Labor  department. 

Manufactures  committee   (Senate). 

339.  Poor  relief.     Mothers'  and  old  age  pensions. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Children's  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 
See  also  331.25,   Industrial   insurance.     Workmen's 
compensation. 

340.  Law. 

Law  library  (Library  of  Congress). 

341.  International  law. 

State  department. 

Naval  war  college. 

Permanent  court  of  arbitration,  The  Hague. 

International  commission  of  jurists    [on  private  and 

public  international  law]. 
See   also   2)^"],    Foreign    relations.     Diplomatic    and 

consular  service. 

341.2.        Treaties. 

President. 

State  department. 

Senate. 

341.6.  International  arbitration. 

State  department. 

Permanent  court  of  arbitration.  The  Hague. 
See  also  917.3,  United  States :  Boundaries. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification      163 

341.7.  Diplomatic  service. 

State  department. 
See   also   2)2"/,   Foreign    relations.    Diplomatic    and 
consular  service. 

341.8.  Consular  service. 

Consular  bureau. 
State  department. 
See   also   z^T,    Foreign    relations.     Diplomatic    and 
consular  service ;  382,  Foreign  commerce. 

342.  Constitutional  law  and  history. 

American  historical  association. 
Manuscripts  division  (Library  of  Congress). 
Rolls  and  library  bureau. 
State  department. 
Supreme  court 

34373'       Criminal  law^  and  administration. 
Justice  department. 
Secret  service  division. 
Criminal  identification  bureau. 
Investigation  bureau. 
Pardon  attorney. 
Parole  boards. 
See  also  364-365,  Reformatories.     Prisons.    Crimi- 
nology. 

344.  Courts-martial. 

See      355,      Military      regulations.     Military      law. 
Courts-martial. 

345.  United  States  statutes  and  cases. 

Rolls  and  library  bureau. 

Joint  committee  on  revision  of  the  laws  of  the  United 

States  (Congress). 
Justice  department. 

Solicitor  of  the  Department  of  agriculture. 
Solicitor  of  the  Department  of  commerce. 
Solicitor  for  the  Department  of  the  interior. 
Solicitor  for  the  Department  of  labor. 
Solicitor  for  the  Post-office  department. 
Solicitor  for  the  Department  of  state. 
Solicitor  of  the  Treasury. 
Supreme  court. 
District  courts. 
Circuit  courts  of  appeals. 
Court    if  claims. 
Court  of  customs  appeals. 
Judiciary  committee  (Senate). 
Judiciary  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

351.1.  Civil  service. 

Efficiency  bureau. 

Civil  service  and  retrenchment  committee  (Senate). 

Committee  to   examine   the   several   branches   of   the 

civil  service  (Senate). 
Civil  service  reform  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

351.2.  Civil  service  lists. 

Census  bureau. 


164       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

351.3.        Civil  service  examinations. 
Civil  service  commission, 

351.5.  Pensions,  Military,  naval,  and  civil  service. 

Pension  bureau. 

Interior  department. 

Pensions  committee  (Senate),  * 

Pensions  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

Invalid  pensions  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

See  also  331.25,   Industrial    insurance.     Workmen's 

compensation;    339,    Poor    relief.    Mothers'    and 

old  age  pensions. 

352.073.     Cities  in  the  United  States. 
Census  bureau. 

352.1.        City  finance  and  accounting. 
Census  bureau.       • 

352.6.  City  water  supply  accounting. 

Census  bureau. 

353.6.  United  States  army :     Personnel  and  stations. 

Adjutant  general's  department. 

Note. —  Also,  certain  branches  of  the  service  pub- 
lish each  its  own  list,  e.  g.,  Medical  department 
(Army). 

See'  also  355,  Military  science.  Army.  Military 
administration  of  the  United  States. 

353-7-        United  States  navy :  Personnel  and  stations. 
Navigation  bureau   (Navy  dept. ). 

See  also  359,  Naval  science.  Navy.  Naval  admin- 
istration of  the  United  States.  •  , 

355.  Military    science.     Army.     Military    administi'ation    of 

the  United  States. 
War  department. 
•    War  college  division. 
General  staff  corps. 
Army  and  navy  jomt  board. 
Council  of  national  defense. 
Marine  corps. 

Military  affairs  committee  (Senate). 
Military  affairs  committee  (H,  of  R.). 

355,  Military  regulations.     Military  law.     Courts-martial. 

•Judge  advocate  general's  department  (Army). 
General  staff  corps. 
War  department. 
Note. —  Also,  certain  branches  of  the  service  pub- 
lish each  its  own  regulations,  e.  g.,  Signal  office; 
Quartermaster  general  of  the  army. 

355.07.  Military  science :  Study  and  teaching. 

Miltary  academy  (West  Point). 

Army  war  college  (D.  C). 

Army  service  schools  (Ft.  Leavenworth.  Six  schools 
are  enumerated  in  Author  Headings  for  U.  S. 
Public  Documents,  191 5.  Several  of  these,  also 
others  existing  elsewhere,  are  listed  separately 
here  under  their  special  subjects). 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       165 

35S-I5-       Colors  and  standards.       •  •  . 

See  929.9,  Flags. 

355.2.        Militia. 

Militia  bureau  (War  dept). 
Naval  militia  affairs  division.  ' 

See  also  359,  Naval  science.  Navy.  Naval  admin- 
istration of  the  United  States. 

355.5.        Drill  manuals. 

General  staff  corps. 

Note. —  Also,  certain  branches  of  the  service  istue 
each  its  own  drill  manuals,  e.  g.,  Medical  depart- 
ment (Army)  ;  Signal  office. 

355.7.  Military  establishments  and  reservations  (Includes  forts, 
barracks,  military  parks,  military  cemeteries,  and 
other  buildings  and  grounds  used  for  military 
purposes). 

Judge  advocate  general's  department  (Army). 

War  department. 

Special  commissions  for  special  national  military 
parks. 

357.  Cavalry. 

Mounted  service  school  (Ft.  Riley). 

359.  ,  Naval  science.  Navy.  Naval  administration  of  the 
United  States. 

Navy  department. 

Naval  war  college  (Newport). 

Naval  intelligence  office. 

General  board. 

Army  and  navy  joint  board. 

Naval  operations  office. 

Navigation  bureau   (Navy  dept.) 

Judge  advocate  general  (Navy). 

Naval  consulting  board. 

Naval  militia  affairs  division. 

Navy  yards  and  naval  stations  commission. 

Naval  aft'afrs.  committee   (Senate). 

Naval  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
361.  Charitable  institutions. 

•  American  national  Red  Cross. 

Census  bureau. 

Freedman's  savings  and  trust  company. 

362.1.  Hospitals. 

Army  general  hospital  (Fort  Bayard). 

Freednien's  hospital  (D.  C). 

Naval  hospital  (D.  C). 

Public  health  service. 

Hospital  corps  (Army). 

Hospital  corps  (Navy). 

362.2.  Insane. 

St.  Elizabeth's  hospital  (D.  C.    Formerly  Government 
hospital  for  the  insane). 
362.4.       "Deaf. 

•  Columbia  institution  for  the  deaf  (D.  C). 
Education  bureau. 


i66       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

362.^.         Pauperism. 

Census  bureau. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

362.6.  Homes  for  the  needy. 

National  home  for  disabled  volunteer  soldiers. 
Soldiers'  home   (D.  C). 
Naval  home. 

362.7,  Children :  Charities.     Delinquents, 

Children's  bureau. 
■  .  Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Education  bureau. 

See  also  331.3,  Child  labor. 


364. 
365. 


>-   Reformatories.     Prisons.     Criminology. 


Justice  department. 
International  prison  commission. 

United  States  penitentiaries  commission  (or  Commis- 
sion on  equipping  L^nited  States  penitentiaries  for 
manufacturing  articles  used  by  the  government). 
Education  bureau. 
Smithsonian  institution. 
See  also  343.73,  Criminal  law  and  administration. 

368.  Insurance. 

Census  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
See  also  331.25,  Industrial   insurance.    Workmen's 
compensation, 

368.2.  Marine  insurance. 

See  386-7,  Transportation :  Water. 

369.135.     National  society  of  Daughters  of  the  American  revolu- 
tion. 

369.151.    Grand  army  of  the  republic, 

370,  Education. 

Education  bureau. 

Census  bureau. 

Education  and  labor  committee  (Senate). 

Education  committee  (H,  of  R.). 

371.3.  Methods  of  instruction, 

Indian  affairs  office. 

371.7.        School  hygiene. 

Public  health  service. 
Education  bureau. 

See  also  379.173,  Rural  schools. 

371.74,      School  games,  dances,  songs,  etc. 
Indian  affairs  office. 

371.912.    Education  of  the  deaf. 
See  362.4,  Deaf. 

371.95.      Education  of  the  Indian. 
See  970.1,  Indians. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification      167 

371.974.     Education  of  the  negro. 
Education  bureau. 
Howard  university. 

371.98.      Education  of  the  foreign-born. 
Education  bureau. 
Naturalization  bureau. 
Information  division    (Immigration  bureau). 

378.  Colleges. 

See  607  and  630.7,  Colleges  of  agriculture  and  me- 
chanic arts. 

379-'^73-     Rural  schools. 

Education  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
States  relations  service. 
Markets  bureau. 

See  also  371.7,  School  hygiene. 

380.  Commerce.     Transportation.     Communication. 

Federal  trade  commission. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Commerce  department. 
Commercial  economy  board. 
Markets  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 

Interstate  and   foreign  commerce  committee    (H.   of 
R.). 
See  also  338,  Production.     Manufactures.     Prices. 

381.  Domestic  commerce. 

Federal  trade  commission. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Markets  bureau. 

Interstate  commerce  committee    (Senate). 
Interstate  and   foreign  commerce  committee    (H.   of 
R.). 
See  also  385  and  386  and  387,  Transportation. 

381.  Commercial  organizations. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Interstate  commerce  commission. 

382.  Foreign  commerce. 

War  trade  board. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Markets  bureau. 
Pan  American  union. 
Commerce  committee  (Senate). 

Interstate  and   foreign  commerce  committee    (H.   of 
R.). 

383.  Post  office. 

Post  office  department. 

Post  offices  and  post  roads  committee  (Senate). 

Post  office  and  post  roads  committee  (H.  of   R.). 

384.  Telegraph.     Telephone.     Cable. 

Interstate  commerce  commission. 

Radio  service  (Navigation  bureau,  Commerce  dept.). 

Naval  communication  service. 


i68       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

Census  bureau. 

Post  offices  aud  post  roads  committee   (Senate). 
Post  office  and  post  roads  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See    also   621.38,    Telegraphy;    623.7,    Military    sig- 
naling. 

385] 

386  Y        Transportation. 

387  1  Quartermaster  general  of  the  army. 

385.  Transportation:     Railroads  (Railroad  management). 

Interstate  commerce  commission. 
Valuation  division. 
Eight-hour  commission. 
Interstate  commerce  committee  (Senate). 
Railroads  committee  (Senate). 
Interstate   and   foreign   commerce   committee    (H.   of 

R.). 
Railways  and  canals  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  625,  Railroads  (Railroad  building). 

385.  Express. 

Interstate  commerce  commi>sion. 
Interstate  commerce  committee  (Senate). 
Interstate  and   foreign   commerce   committee    (H.   of 
R.). 

386  ")     Transportation:     Water    (Canal,   river,  ocean).     Ships. 

387  J         Shipping  board. 

Emergency  fleet  corporation. 
Interstate  commerce  commission. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Commerce  department. 
Foreign  mails  division. 
Navigation  bureau  (Commerce  dept.). 
Coast  guard. 

Steamboat-inspection  service. 
War  risk  insurance  bureau. 
Commerce  committee  (Senate). 

Merchant  marine  and  fisheries  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
Railways  and  canals  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
Interstate  and  foreign  commerce  committee    (H.  of 
R.). 
See  also  626.9,  Ship  canals. 

386.  Highways. 

See  625.7,  Roads. 

388.  City  transit.     Street  railways. 

Census  bureau. 

389.  '      Weights  and  measures. 

Standards  bureau. 

Standards,  weights  and  measures  committee  (Senate). 

Coinage,  weights  and  measures  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

390.  Customs.     Folk  lore. 

National  museum. 
Ethnology  bureau. 
497.  Indian  languages. 

Ethnology  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       169 

500.  Science. 

Smithsonian  institution. 
National  academy  of  sciences. 
National  research  committee. 
Education  bureau  (Science  teaching). 
Science  bureau  (P.  I.). 

510.8.  Mathematical,  physical,  etc.,  tables. 

Nautical  almanac  office. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

520.  Astronomy. 

Naval  observatory. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

521.  Theoretical  astronomy. 

Astrophysical  observatory. 

525.6.  Tides. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 
Weather  bureau. 

526.  Geodesy. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 

526.9.  Surveying. 

General  land  office. 
Engineer  department. 

526.99.      Hydrographic  surveys  and  charts. 
Hydrographic  office. 

See    also   551.46-7,    Oceanography.     Currents,    etc.; 
551.57,  Rainfall.     Flow  of  streams.     Floods. 

527.  Navigation. 

Navigation  bureau  (Commerce  dept). 
Navigation  bureau   (Navy  dept.). 
Hydrographic  office. 
Naval  observatory. 
Nautical  almanac  office. 

528.  Ephemerides. 

Nautical  almanac  office. 

529.78.       Instruments  for  measuring  time. 
Standards  bureau. 

530.  Physics. 

Standards  bureau. 

538.7.  Terrestrial  magnetism. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

540.  Chemistry. 

Standards  bureau. 

See    also    543.5,    Analjtical    chemistry;    631,    Soils. 
Fertilizers;  660,  Chemical  technology. 

543.5.        Analytical  chemistry. 
Chemistry  bureau. 

See  also  614.3.  Food  and  drug  analysis;  631,  Soils. 
Fertilizers ;  660,  Chemical  technology. 


170      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

549.  Mineralogy. 

Geological  survey. 
National  museum. 
See  also  553,  Economic  geology. 

549.8.        Coal,  etc. 

See  662.6.  Coal.  Peat.  Coke.  Natural  gas.  De- 
natured alcohol. 

550.  Geology. 

Geological  survey. 

Geological  survey  committee  (Senate). 

551.  Physical  geography. 

Geological  survey. 

551.2.         Seismology. 

Weather  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

551-46 1     Oceanography.     Currents,  etc. 
551.47  j        Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 

Hydrographic  office. 

International  council  for  study  of  the  sea. 
See  also  526.99,  Hydrographic  surveys  and  charts. 

551.5.        Meteorology. 

Weather  bureau. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

551.57.      Rainfall.    Flow  of  streams.    Floods. 
W^eather  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 
Agriculture  department. 
Flood  control  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See   also   627,    Rivers.    Harbors.     Hydraulic   engi- 
neering. 

553.  Economic  geology. 

Geological  survey. 
See  also  338.2,  Mineral  products ;  549,  Mineralogy. 

553.2.        Coal,  petroleum,  etc. 

See  662.6,  Coal.  Peat.  Coke.  Natural  gas.  De- 
natured alcohol;  665.4-5,  Mineral  oils.  As- 
phaltum. 

553.7.        Mineral  waters. 

See  615.79,  Mineral  waters. 

560.  Paleontology. 

Geological  survey. 
National  museum. 

571  1         Prehistoric  archeology.    Anthropology.    Ethnology. 

572  Y  Ethnology  bureau. 

573  I  National  museum. 

572.998.     Eskimos. 

Ethnology  bureau. 
National  museum. 
Education  bureau. 
Public  health  service. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification      171 

579.  Collectors'  manuals.     Taxidermy,  etc. 

National  museum. 
Biological  survey  burea 

580.  Botany. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 
National  museum. 
United  States  national  herbarium. 
Agriculture  department. 

581.2.        Diseases  of  plants. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 
Federal  horticultural  board. 
Agriculture  department. 

See  also  632,  Insects.     Blights,  etc. 

581.92.      Marine  plants. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 
Fisheries  bureau. 
See  also  338.3.  Water  products. 

582.  Trees. 

See  634.9.  Forestry. 

590,  Zoology. 

Biological  survey  bureau. 

National  museum. 

International  commission  on  zoological  nomenclature 

(Smithsonian  institution). 
National  zoological  park. 

591.65.      Noxious  animal  life   (Mostly  insects  and  more  minute 
organisms). 
Public  health  service. 
Entomology  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Insecticide  and  fungicide  board. 
Medical  department  (Army). 
Canal  Zone.     Health  department. 
See  also  632,  Insects.     Blights,  etc. 

591.92.      Marine  animals. 

Fisheries  bureau. 

See  also  338.3,  Water  products. 

595.7.        Insects. 

See    591.65,    Noxious    animal    life;    632,    Insects. 
Blights,  etc. 

597.  Fishes. 

Fisheries  bureau. 
National  museum. 
See  also  338.3,  Water  products;  639,  Fisheries. 

598.2.         Birds. 

Biological  survey  bureau. 
National  museum. 
Agriculture  department. 
Smithsonian  institution. 

599.7.        Seal. 

See  639.2.  Seal  fisheries. 


172      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

60a  Useful  arts. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

606.  Industrial  expositions. 

United  States  commissioners  to  expositions  in  United 

States  or  foreign  countries. 
State  department. 

Education   bureau    (Educational   exhibits   described). 
Industrial  expositions  committee  (Senate). 
Industrial  arts  and  expositions  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

607.  Industrial  education. 

Education  bureau. 
Labor  department. 
Federal  board  for  vocational  education. 

607.  Colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts. 

Education  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

608.  Patents  and  trade  marks. 

Patent  office. 
Pan  American  imion. 
Patents  committee  (Senate). 
Patents  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

610.  Medicine. 

Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Medical  department  (Army). 
Medicine  and  surgery  bureau. 
Education  bureau. 
Lighthouses  bureau. 
Smithsonian  institution. 
National  academy  of  sciences. 
Agriculture  department. 
Entomology  bureau. 
Biological  survey. 
Animal  industry  bureau. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
Canal  Zone.     Health  department, 

610.7.        Medical  study  and  research. 

Army  medical  school  (D.  C). 
Naval  medical  school  (D.  C). 
Hygienic  laboratory. 

610,73,      Training  of  nurses. 
Education  bureau. 
Medical  department  (Army). 
Medicine  and  surgery  bureau, 

612.39.      Foods:  Nutrition:  Metabolism. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Smithsonian  institution. 
See  also  614.3,  Food  and  drug  analysis;  641,  Foods. 
Cookery. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       173 

613.  Personal  hygiene. 

Markets  bureau. 
Public  health  service. 
Qiildren's  bureau. 

613. IZ       Health  resorts. 

See  613.75,  National  parks  and  reservations. 

613.6.        Hygiene  of  employment. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Labor  department. 
Public  health  service. 
Internal  revenue  commissioner. 
Medicine  and  surgery  bureau. 
See  also  622,  Mines  and  mining. 

613.71.       Physical  training. 

General  staff  corps. 
Education  bureau. 

613.75.       National  parks  and  reservations. 
National  park  service. 
Interior  department. 

613.8.        Hygiene  of  the  nervous  system. 

See  615.9,  Poisons  and  habit-forming  drugs. 

614.  Public  health. 

Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Labor  statistics  bureau, 
^ledicine  and  surgery  bureau. 
Animal  industry  bureau, 
Agriculture  department. 
Indian  affairs  office. 
Smithsonian  institution. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Government  printing  office. 
International  office  of  public  hygiene  (Paris). 
Public    health    and    national    quarantine    committee 
(Senate). 

614. 1.        Vital  statistics. 

Census  bureau. 

614,3,        Food  and  drug  analysis. 
Chemistry  bureau. 

Reference  board  of  consulting  scientific  expert 
Agriculture  department. 
Solicitor  of  the  Department  of  agriculture. 
Animal  industry  bureau. 
Fisheries  bureau. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Forest  service. 
See   also  338.1,   Agricultural   products;   543-5.   An- 
alytical chemistry;  612.39,  Foods:  Nutrition;  Me- 
tabolism; 641,  Foods.     Cookery. 

614.32.       Pure  milk. 

Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Animal  industry  bureau. 


174      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Chemistry  bureau. 

See  also  637,  Dairying. 

614.4   1  .  . 

614.5.  J    Contagious  diseases. 

Public  health  service. 

Hygienic  laboratory. 

614.7.        Hygiene  of  the  air  and  ground. 
Labor  department. 
Chemistry  bureau. 

614.81.  Rescue  from  drowning. 

Coast  guard. 

614.82.  Suffocation  in  mines,  etc. 

See  622,  Mines  and  mining. 

614.83.  Explosions  and  explosives. 

See  622,  Mines  and  mining;  662.2,  Explosives. 

614.837.     Steam  explosions. 

Locomotive  boiler  inspection  division  (Interstate  com- 
merce commission). 
Steamboat-inspection  service. 

614.86.       Protection  of  travelers. 

Interstate  commerce  commission. 

614.865.     Lighthouses. 

See  627.9,  Lighthouses. 

614.9.        Hygiene  of  animals. 

Animal  industry  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Public  health  service. 

See  also  619,  Veterinary  medicine. 

614.96.      Transportation  of  animals. 
Engineer  department. 

615.  Materia  medica.     Drugs. 

Hygienic  laboratory. 
Chemistry  bureau. 
Public  health  service. 
State  department. 
Agriculture  department. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 

615.78.  Drugs  acting  on  the  nervous  system. 

See  615.9,  Poisons  and  habit-forming  drugs. 

615.79.  Mineral  waters. 

Chemistry  bureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Interior  department. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

615.9.        Poisons  and  habit-forming  drugs. 
Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Internal  revenue  commissioner. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       175 

Treasury  department. 
Labor  department. 
Insular  affairs  bureau. 

618.  Childbearing. 

Children's  bureau. 

618.9.        Diseases  of  children. 

See  649,  Nursery.     Children. 

619.  Veterinary  medicine. 

Animal  industry  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

See  also  614.9,  Hygiene  of  animals. 

619.1.        Horse. 

Mounted  service  school   (Fort  Riley). 
Animal  industry  bureau. 
Militia  bureau  (War  dept.). 

620.  Engineering. 

Engineer  department. 

Engineer  school  (Washington  barracks). 

States  relations  service. 

Public  roads  and  rural  engineering  office. 

Yards  and  docks  bureau. 

Civil  engineer  corps   (Navy). 

Mines  l)ureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Target  practice  and  engineering  competitions  office. 

620.1.        Tests  of  materials. 

Watertown  arsenal. 
Standards  bureau. 
Chemistry  bureau. 

620.12.       Timber  tests. 

Forest  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

See  also  674,  Manuiactures  of  wood. 

621. 1.  Steam  engineering. 

Steam  engineering  bureau. 

621.18.       Steam  generation.     Boilers.     Furnaces. 
Standards  bureau. 
Mines  bureau. 
Steam  engineering  bureau. 

See  also  614.837,  Steam  explosions.  ? 

621.182.     Fuels. 

See  662.6,  Coal.  Peat.  Coke.  Natural  gas.  De- 
natured alcohol ;  665.4-5,  Mineral  oils.  As- 
phaltum. 

621.1941.  Smoke  prevention. 
Alines  bureau. 

621.2.  Hydraulic  motors  and  machinery. 

Geological  survey. 


176      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

621.3.         Electric  engineering. 
Standards  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 
Signal  office. 
Steam  engineering  bureau. 

621.33.       Electric  railways. 

See  388,  City  transit.     Street  railways. 

621.38.       Telegraphy. 

Radio  service   (Navigation  bureau,  Commerce  dept.). 
Naval  communication  service. 
Signal  office. 

Navigation  bureau   (Commerce  dept.). 
See  also  623.7,  Military  signaling. 

621.43.      Gasoline  engines. 
Coast  guard. 

621.56.       Refrigeration. 

See  664.8,  Foods :  Preservation.  Canning.  Cold 
storage. 

622.  Mines  and  mining  (Includes  mining  laws  and  decisions, 

safety  devices,  etc.). 

Mines  bureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Standards  bureau. 

General  land  office. 
,  Labor  department. 
„    California  debris  commission. 

Mines  and  mining  committee  (Senate). 

Mines  and  mining  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  662.2,  Explosives. 

622.33.       Coal  mining. 

See  622,  Mines  and  mining;  also  338.2,  Mineral 
products ;  662.6,  Coal.  Peat.  Coke.  Natural  gas. 
Denatured  alcohol. 

623.  Military    engineering.     Firearms.     Fortifications.     Gun- 

nery. 
General  staff  corps. 
War  industries  board. 
Engineer  department. 
Engineer  school  (Washington  barracks). 
Army  field  engineer  school  (Ft.  Leavenworth). 
Ordnance  department. 
Ordnance  and  fortification  board. 
Coast  artillery  office. 
Coast  artillery  school   (Ft.  Monroe). 
National  board  for  promotion  of  rifle  practice. 
Target   practice    and    engineering   competitions    office 

(War  dept.) 
Adjutant  general's  office. 
War  department. 
Ordnance  bureau  (Navy). 
Naval  gun  factory. 
Gunnery  exercises  and  engineering  performances  office 

(Navy  dept.). 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       177 

Navigation  bureau   (Navy  dept.). 

Coast  defenses  committee   (Senate). 

See  also  355,  Military  science.  Army.  Military  ad- 
ministration of  the  United  States ;  359,  Naval  sci- 
ence. Navy.  Naval  administration  of  the  United 
States. 

623.6.  Military  roads. 

Engineer  department. 

Alaska  road  commissioners  board. 

623.7.  Military  signaling. 

Signal  office. 

Army  signal  school   (Ft.  Leavenworth). 
See  also  621.38,  Telegraphy. 

623.8.  Naval  architecture. 

Construction  and  repair  bureau. 
See  also  699,  Ship  building. 

624.  Bridges. 

Engineer  department. 
Public  roads  and  rural  engineering  office. 
Commerce  committee   (Senate). 

Interstate     and     foreign     commerce     committee     (H. 
of  R.). 

625.  Railroads  (Railroad  building). 

Alaskan  engineering  commission  (Interior  depart- 
ment). 

Engineer  department. 

See  also  385,  Railroads  (Railroad  management)  ; 
614.837,  Steam  explosions ;  614.8(3,  Protection  of 
travelers. 

625.7.  Roads. 

Public  roads  and  rural  engineering  office. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

Post  offices  and  post  roads  committee  (Senate). 
Roads  committee  (  H.  of  R.). 
See  also  623.5,  Military  roads. 

626.8.  Irrigation  engineering. 

Reclamation  service. 

Geological  survey. 

States  relations  service. 

Agriculture  department. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

Census  bureau. 

International  commission  for  the  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  U.  S.  and 
Me.xico. 

Irrigation  and  reclamation  of  arid  lands  committee 
(Senate ). 

Irrigation  of  arid  lands  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

See  also  627,  Rivers.  Harbors.  Hydraulic  engi- 
neering; 627.5,  Soil  drainage. 

626.9.  Ship  canals. 

Panama  canal. 


178      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

Maritime    canal    company    of     Nicaragua     (Interior 

dcpt.). 
War  department. 
State  department. 
President. 

Pan  American  union. 
Naval  war  college. 
American  historical  association. 
Smithsonian  institution. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
Weather  bureau. 

Interoceanic  canals  committee   (Senate). 
See  also  386  and  387,  Transportation :  Water. 

627.  Rivers.     Harbors.     Hydraulic  engineering. 

Engineer  department. 

International  joint   commission   on  boundary    waters 

between  U.  S.  and  Canada. 
Rivers  and  harbors  engineers  board. 
Mississippi  river  commission. 
Commerce  committee   (Senate). 
Rivers  and  harbors  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

See     also     551.57,     Rainfall.     Flow     of     streams. 

Floods;  626.8,  Irrigation  engineering. 

627.5.         Soil  drainage. 

See  631,  Soil  drainage. 

627.9.        Lighthouses. 

Lighthouses  bureau. 
Hydrographic  office. 

628.  Sanitary  engineering. 

Public  roads  and  rural  engineering  office. 
Agriculture  department. 
See  also  696,  Plumbing. 

628.1.        Water  supply  (Potable  water  and  water  power). 
Geological  survey. 
Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Agriculture  department. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
National  academy  of  sciences. 
Federal  trade  commission. 

628.3.  Sewage  disposal. 

Geological  survey. 
Public  health  service. 
Hygienic  laboratory. 
Agriculture  department. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 

See  also  628.4,  Town  sanitation. 

628.4.  Town  sanitation. 

Public  health  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Census  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification      179 

628.5.  Industrial  sanitation. 

See  621.1941,  Smoke  prevention. 

629.13.      Aviation. 

Signal  office. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

National  advisory  board  for  aeronautics. 

Aircraft  production  board. 

630.  Agriculture. 

Agriculture  department. 

International  institute  of  agriculture  (Rome). 
Agriculture  and  forestry  commmittee  (Senate). 
Agriculture  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

630.  Farming  as  a  business.     Farm  life. 

Farm  management  office. 
Markets  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Federal  farm  loan  bureau. 
Rural  credits  joint  committee  (Congress). 
See  also  112.^,  Agricultural  creditr. 

630.6.  Agricultural  associations. 

Interstate  commerce  commission. 

630.7.  Agricultural  study  and  experimentation. 

States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
Reclamation  service. 
Education  bureau. 

630.7.        Colleges  and  schools  of  agriculture. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Education  bureau. 

631.  Soils. 

Soils  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
States  relations  service. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 

631.  Fertilizers. 

Soils  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
States  relations  service. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 

631.  Soil  drainage. 

States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

(i2)2:  Insects.     Blights,  etc. 

Entomology  bureau. 
Insecticide  and  fungicide  board. 
Agriculture  department. 
Federal  horticultural  board. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
See  also  581.2.  Diseases  of  plants;  591.65,  Noxious 


i8o      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

animal  life;   for  pests  afTccting  animals  see  636, 
Domestic  animals. 

634.9.         Forestry. 

Forest  service. 

National  forest  reservation  commission. 

Geological  survey. 

Agriculture  department. 

Solicitor  of  the  Department  of  agriculture. 

Census  bureau. 

Agriculture  and  forestry  committee    (Senate). 

Forest  reservations  and  protection  of  game  committee 

(Senate). 
Agriculture  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  338.1,  Lumber  and  forest  products;  620.12, 

Timber  tests;  674,  Manufactures  of  wood;  676, 

Paper  making. 

636.  Domestic  animals. 

Animal  industry  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Public  health  service. 
Census  bureau. 

See   also   338.1.   Agricultural  products;   614.9,   Hy- 
giene of  animals;  619,  Veterinary  medicine. 

637.  Dairying. 

Animal  industry  bureau. 
States  relations  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
See  also  614.32,  Pure  milk. 

638.  Bees. 

Entomology  bureau. 

639.  Fisheries. 

Fisheries  bureau. 

International  fisheries  commission. 
Fisheries  committee    (Senate). 

Merchant  marine  and  fisheries  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  33ii.3,  Water  products ;  597,  Fishes. 

639.2.         Seal  fisheries. 

Fisheries  bureau. 

State  department. 

Finance  committee  (Senate). 

Ways  and  means  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

640.  Home  economics. 

Agriculture  department. 

Indian  aft'airs  oflice. 

Education  bureau  (Teaching  methods). 

641.  Foods.     Cookery. 

Agriculture  department. 
Quartermaster  general  of  the  army. 
States  relations  service. 
Chemistry  bureau. 
Animal  industry  bureau. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       i8i 

Fisheries  bureau. 
Education  bureau, 
Indian  attains  office. 
Interior  department. 
See  also  612  39.  Foods  :  Nutrition ;  Metabolism. 

641.4.        Foods  :  Preservation  ;  Markets. 

See  338.1,  Agricultural  products;  338.1,  Meat  sup- 
ply; 33S.4,  Manufactured  articles;  664.8,  Foods: 
Preservation  ;  Canning ;  Cold  storage. 

649.  Nursery.     Children. 

Children's  bureau. 
Public  health  service. 

654.  Telegraph. 

See  621.38.  Telegraphy. 

655.  Printing  and  publishing. 

Census  bureau. 

655-53-      Typographical  style. 

Government  printing  office. 

See  also  029.6,  Writing  for  publication. 

655.59.       Government  printing 

Government  printing  office. 
Publications  divisions. 

Note. —  It  is  intended  that  there  shall  be  a  publica- 
tions division  in  each  executive  department  and 
independent  office. 
International  exchange  service. 
Printing  joint  committee  (Congress). 
Printing  committee    (Senate). 
Printing  committee  ( H.  of  R.). 
See  also  016.353,  Bibliography  of  U.  S.  government 
publications. 

656.  Transportation. 

See  385,  Transportation :  Railroads ;  386  and  387, 
Transportation:  Water;  388,  City  transit. 

657.  Accounting. 

See  352.1,  Ctiy  finance  and  accounting;  352.6,  City 
water  supply  accounting. 

660.  Chemical  technology. 

Chemistry  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Standards  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
See  also  338.4,  Manufactured  articles. 

662.2.        Explosives. 

Mines  bureau. 

Ordnance  bureau  (Navy  dept.). 

Adjutant  general's  office. 

662.6.        Coal.     Peat.    Coke.    Natural   gas.    Denatured   alcohol. 
Mines  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 


i82       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

Quartermaster  general  cif  tlic  army. 

See  also  33S.2,  Mineral   products;  665.4  and  665.5, 
Ahneral  oils.     Asphaltum. 

663.  Beverages,  Fermented  and  distilled. 

Internal  revenue  commissioner. 
See  also  178.4,  Liquor  traffic;  336.27,  Special  taxes. 

664.  Foods  :   Chemical  technology. 

See  614.3,  Food  and  drug  analysis ;  664.8,  Foods : 
Preservation;  Canning;  Cold  storage. 

664.8.        Foods:  Preservation;  Canning;  Cold  storage. 
Markets  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Chemistry  bureau. 
See  also  338.1,  Agricultural  products;  338.4,  Manu- 
factured articles. 

f.(.l"t'  \     Mineral  oils.     Asphaltum. 
^■^'  ■'         Mines  bureau. 

Steam  engineering  bureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Standards  bureau. 

Interstate  commerce  commission. 

Census  bureau. 

See  also  338.2,  Mineral  products ;  662.6,  Coal,  etc. 

666.  Clay  industries. 

Mines  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 

669.  Metallurgy. 

Mines  bureau. 
Geological  survey. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Standards  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 
See  also  553,  Economic  geology. 

670.  Manufactures. 

Federal  trade  commission. 
Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 
Pan  American  union. 
Manufactures  committee  (Senate). 
See  also  338.4,  Manufactured  articles. 

674.  Manufactures  of  wood. 

Forest  service. 
Agriculture  department. 

See  also  620.12,  Timber  tests. 

676.  Paper  making. 

Chemistry  bureau. 
Forest  service. 
Agriculture  department. 
Plant  industry  bureau. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
See  also  338.4,  Manufactured  articles. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       183 

682.1.         Horseshoeing. 

Mounted  service  school   (Fort  Riley,  Kans.). 

General  staff  corps. 

Militia  bureau   (War  dept). 

696.  Plumbing. 

Public  roads  and  rural  engineering  office. 

Supervising  architect. 

Agriculture  department. 

See  also  628,  Sanitary  engineering. 

699.  Ship  building. 

Construction  and  repair  bureau. 
See  also  623.8,  Naval  architecture. 

700.  Fine  arts. 

Fine  arts  commission. 

National  gallery  of  art   (National  museum). 

Library  joint  committee  (Congress). 

711.  Public  parks. 

National  park  service. 

725.  Public  buildings. 

Supervising  architect. 
Fine  arts  commission. 

Office  of  public  buildings  and  grounds  and  Washing- 
ton monument   (For  D.  C.  only). 
Public  buildings  and  grounds  committee  (Senate). 
Public  buildings  and  grounds  committee   (H.  of  R.). 

727.  Schoolhouses. 

Education  bureau. 

769.  Collections  of  engravings. 

Prints  division  (Library  of  Congress). 

770.  Photography. 

Signal  office. 

780.  Music. 

Music  division   (Library  of  Congress). 
Education  bureau   (Music  teaching). 

790.  Amusements. 

See  371.74,  School  games,  dances,  songs,  etc. 

797,  Yachting. 

Navigation  bureau  (Navy  dept.). 

798,  Horsemanship. 

War  college  division. 
Militia  bureau   (War  dept.). 

799,  Hunting.     Fishing.     Game. 

Biological  survey  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Alaska.     Governor. 

Forest  reservations  and  protection  of  game  committee 
(Senate). 

900.  History. 

American  historical  association. 

See  also  973,  History  of  the  United  States. 


184      Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

910.  Geography. 

Geographic  board. 

PhiUppine  committee  on  geographical  names. 
See  also  917.3,  Geography  of  the  United  States. 

912.  Maps  and  charts. 

Geological  survey. 

General  land  office. 

Topography  division  (P.  O.  dept.). 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey   (Coasts  of  United  States 

and  waters  adjacent). 
Hydrographic  office  (Foreign  waters  and  coasts). 
State  department. 
Reclamation  service. 
Forest  service. 
Engineer  department. 
*  Mississippi  river  commission. 

Northern  and  northwestern  lakes  survey. 

General  staff  corps. 

War  college  division. 

Geographic  board  (Advisory). 

Maps    and    charts    division     (Library    of    Congress. 

Bibliography). 
See    also,    for    statistical    weather,   and    soil    maps, 

317.3.  Statistics  of  the  U.  S. ;  551.5,  Meteorology; 

631,  Soils. 
Note. —  Here  are  not  included  maps  bound  in  and 

illustrating  books,  but  maps  issued  separately  only. 

01^8  [     Antiquities  of  America. 
^  ^'  ■  •'         Ethnology  bureau. 

National  museum. 

Mesa  Verde  national  park 

Casa  Grande  ruin. 

Interior  department. 

917.2.        Mexico.     Central  America.     West  Indies. 
Pan  American  union. 

917.293.     Dominican  Republic. 

Insular  affairs  bureau. 
Dominican  customs  receivership. 

917.295.     Porto  Rico. 

Porto  Rico.     Governor. 

Agricultural  experiment  station. 

Education  bureau. 

Census  office  (And  other  government  depart- 
ments of  Porto  Rico.  They  report  to  the  United 
States  War  department). 

Insular  affairs  bureau. 
Census  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 
Labor  statistics  bureau. 
..    •  Geological  survey. 

Ethnology  bureau. 
Education  bureau. 
Agriculture  department. 
Animal  industry  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification       185 

Forest  service. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 

Weather  bureau. 

Public  health  service. 

Pacific  islands  and   Porto  Rico  committee    (Senate). 

Insular  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

917.3.         Geography  and  description  of  the  United  States. 
Geological  survey. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey  (Coasts  and  waters). 
See  also  910,  Geography;  912,  Maps  and  charts. 

917.3.        United  States  :  Boundaries. 

International   joint   commission   on   boundary   waters 

between  United  States  and  Canada. 
International    boundary    commissions,    United    States 

and  Canada  (3  in  number). 
State  department. 
Geological  survey. 
International  boundary  commission,  United  States  and 

Mexico. 
St.  John  river  joint  commission. 

917.53.       District  of  Columbia. 

District  of  Columbia.     Commissioners. 
District  of  Columbia  committee   (Senate). 
District  of  Columbia  committee  (H.  of  R.). 
See  also  725,  Public  buildings. 

917.7.         Mississippi  river. 

Mississippi  river  commission. 

Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries  committee  (Sen- 
ate) 
Flood  control  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

917.98.      Alaska. 

Alaska.     Governor. 

Agricultural  experiment  station. 

Interio'r  department. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

Geological  survey. 

Coast  guard. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 

Census  bureau. 

Alaskan  engineering  commission. 

Alaska  road  commissioners  board. 

War  department. 

Education  bureau  (By  means  of  the  Alaska  school 
service;  the  Alaska  division;  and  the  Alaska  rein- 
deer service). 

Agriculture  department. 

States  relations  service. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 

General  land  office. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Topography  division  (P.  O.  depL ;  Map). 

Territories  committee   (Senate). 

Territories  committee  (H.  of  R.). 


And  other 
government 
bureaus,  all 
under  the 
commission. 


186       Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification 

See  also  57-'. 998,  Eskimos;  590,  Zoology;  622,  Mines 
and  nnning  ,  O34.9,  Forestry;  639,  Fisheries;  O39.2, 
Seal  hslienes;  970.1,  Indians. 

918.  South  America. 

Pan  American  union. 
Internationa]  high  commission. 

9]8.6.        Canal  Zone  (Isthmus  of  Panama). 
919.14.       Philippine  islands. 

Philippine  commission,  1900-date. 

Science  bureau. 

Census  bureau. 

Forestry  bureau. 

Weather  bureau. 

Lands  bureau. 

Public  instruction  department. 

Insular  affairs  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey  (Atlas). 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Agriculture  department. 

Education  bureau. 

Public  health  service. 

Philippine  committee  on  geographical  names. 

Philippines  committee  (Senate). 

Insular  affairs  committee  (H,  of  R.). 

919.61.      American  Samoa. 

Navy  department. 

Pacific  islands  and  Porto  Rico  committee  (Senate). 

Insular  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

919.67.       Guam  island. 

Navy  department. 

Guam.     Agricultural  experiment  station. 

Pacific  islands  and   Porto  Rico  committee    (Senate). 

Insular  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

919.69.       Hawaii. 

Hawaii.     Governor. 

Agricultural  experiment  station. 

Interior  department. 

Education  bureau. 

Census  bureau. 

Foreign  and  domestic  commerce  bureau. 

Labor  statistics  bureau. 

Geological  survey. 

Coast  and  geodetic  survey. 

General  land  office  (Map). 

Ethnology  bureau. 

Agriculture  department. 

States  relations  service. 

Biological  survey  bureau. 

Entomology  bureau. 

Forest  service. 

Plant  industry  bureau. 

Weather  bureau. 


Publishing  Bodies  by  Decimal  Classification      187 

Fisheries  bureau. 

Territories  committee   (Senate). 

Territories  committee  (.H.  of  R.). 

919.8.  Arctic  regions. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

919.9.  Antarctic  regions. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

920.073.     Biography:  United  States. 

Congress    (Memorial   addresses    and   other    publica- 

cations). 
Joint  printing  committee   (Congress). 
National  academy  of  sciences. 
Adjutant  general's  office. 

929.9.        Flags. 

Navy  department. 

Quartermaster  general  of  the  army. 

Library  of  Congress. 

970.1.        Indians. 

Ethnology  bureau. 

Indian  affairs  office. 

Indian  commissioners  board. 

Five  civilized  tribes  superintendent. 

National  museum. 

Smithsonian  institution. 

Interior  department. 

Census  bureau. 

Indian  affairs  committee  (Senate). 

Five  civilized  tribes  of  Indians  committee  (Senate).' 

Indian  affairs  committee  (H.  of  R.). 

973.  United  States:  History. 

American  historical  association. 

Manuscripts  division    (Library  of  Congress). 

Rolls  and  library  bureau. 

Library  and  naval  war  records  office. 

Library  joint  committee  (Congress). 


PART  IV 

Library  Practice 


I 

Information  and  Selection 

Especially  for  the  small  library  and  the  non-deposi- 
tory, where  the  Monthly  Catalog,  if  received,  is  not  read 
regularly,  the  following  hints  as  to  means  of  informa- 
tion about  the  national  publications  and  their  selection, 
are  given. 

In  the  first  place,  every  library,  even  the  smallest, 
should  own  and  use  the  Checklist.  It  is  in  itself  a  lib- 
eral education  for  both  librarians  and  readers.  But  this 
gives  publications  only  through  1909.  Also,  J.  I.  Wyer, 
United  States  Government  Documents  In  Small  Libra- 
ries,^ should  be  owned  by  every  small  library,  and  the 
publications  there  recommended  be  the  first  procured. 
It  will  doubtless  be  not  allowed  to  fall  too  far  behind  in 
date.  Further,  even  the  small  library  will  be  helped  by 
the  Author  Headings  For  United  States  Public  Docu- 
ments As  Used  in  the  Official  Catalogues  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,^  because  the  learning  from 
this  list  that  there  is  at  Washington,  for  example, 
a  Children's  Bureau,  will  suggest  that  its  publications 
may  be  of  use  to  a  reader  interested  in  child  welfare. 
Of  great  help  will  be  the  Price  Lists  issued  by  the  Docu- 
ments Office  from  time  to  time,  pamphlets,  each  giving 
references  to  where  material  may  be  found  in  a  spe- 
cial field  of  knowledge.  Parts  of  works  are  given,  and 
back  as  well  as  current  publications  are  included.  Some 
of  the  subjects  on  which  Hsts  have  been  issued  are:  — 
United  States  history,  poultry,  forestry,  fishes,  military 
and  naval  literature,  labor  questions,  foods  and  cooking, 

1 4th  edition  revised.  Chicago,  A.  L.  A.,  1914.  (.\.  L.  A.  Publishing 
Board,  Library  handbook  7.) 

2  3d  edition,  March  4,  1915.  (Documents  Office.  Bulletin  18.)  For  two 
earlier  editions  see  Checklist,  p.  416. 

191 


192  Information  and  Selection 

insect  pests,  oenieiit.  engineering  mechanics,  international 
law.  etc.  New  editions  replace  old  ones  as  new  mate- 
rial is  printed.  Many  government  offices  issue  yearly  or 
occasionally  a  prmted  list  each  of  its  own  publications,^ 
and  it  is  entirely  proper  for  any  library  to  write,  for  in- 
stance, to  the  Children's  Bureau  to  ask  if  it  publishes 
such  a  list,  and  to  request  the  gift  of  it.  The  list  of 
publications  of  the  Agriculture  Department  is  printed 
monthly,  and  is  sent  to  all  who  ask  for  it. 

Aside  from  these,  the  same  helps  in  selecting  as  used 
for  other  kinds  of  literature  will  be  used.  The  selected 
United  States  publications  given  in  the  A.  L.  A.  Book 
List  are  all  good.  Notes  of  new  publications  in  maga- 
zines, newspapers,  in  lists  of  other  libraries  and  in  special 
bibliographies,  etc.,  will  be  helpful. 

The  librarian  of  a  small  or  medium  sized  library 
must  not  be  misled  by  the  statements  made  of  the  value 
of  the  national  publications  into  accepting  and  keeping 
blindly  everything  which  may  descend  upon  the  library 
from  an  undiscriminating  Congressman,  or  any  other 
source.  Each  publication  should  be  looked  into,  its 
scope  and  value  be  ascertained.  The  criterion,  with 
this  as  with  other  material,  is  in  the  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion: Does  this  fit  into  an  interest  felt  by  my  readers, 
or  any  interest  which  I  can  develop  among  them?  As 
anything  can  be  sent  back  to  the  Documents  Office  free 
under  franks  which  that  office  will  provide  on  request, 
such  disposal  should  be  made  of  any  which  do  not  sur- 
vive the  application  of  this  test.  But  discarding  should 
not  be  done  without  due  deliberation,  and  expert  ap- 
praisal should  be  secured,  if  possible. 

To  keep  half  a  dozen  back  volumes  of  an  annual  re- 
port of  which  it  is  not  thought  worth  while  to  get  the 
other  issues  to  complete  the  file,  does  not  seem  sensible. 
Odd  volumes  of  miscellaneous  House  and  Senate  Docu- 
ments and  Reports  should  not  be  kept  unless  some  pub- 

3  See  Bibliography:  General:  Publishing  bodies'  lists  of  their  own  pub- 
lications. 


Information  and  Selection  193 

lication  in  any  volume  is  wanted  for  its  subject's  sake. 
This  does  not  negative  the  keeping  of  the  latest  issue 
only  of  any  report  or  statistical  publication,  and  ship- 
ping last  year's  report  back  to  Washington  as  this  year's 
is  received,  or  retiring  it  to  basement  or  attic.  If  an 
odd  volume  is  kept  because  of  the  value  of  only  one  of 
several  publications  in  it,  it  should  be  classed  according 
to  that  one,  and  that  alone  be  cataloged.  It  is  allow- 
able to  ignore  other  publications  in  the  volume  if  they 
would  be  discarded  except  for  being  included.  In  cata- 
loging the  one  valuable  publication,  if  the  volume  is 
of  the  four  series  of  House  or  Senate,  the  catalog  en- 
try will  end  with  the  note  of  the  series,  e.g. :  (U.  S.  54th 
Congress,  26.  session.  House  Document  134.  In  volume 
29;  3505).  But  no  entry  under  U.  S.  Congress,  House 
Documents,  need  be  made  for  it. 

The  most  troublesome  question  constantly  recurring 
is :  In  what  other  form  or  forms  does  this  material 
appear,  and  which  one,  or  how  many,  of  those  obtain- 
able shall  the  library  keep?  To  the  cost  of  storage  and 
care  must  be  added,  be  it  remembered,  that  of  the  cleri- 
cal labor  of  all  records,  the  labeling,  perhaps  binding, 
etc.  The  writer  once  bound  for  use  the  three  quarto 
volumes  of  the  Documentary  History  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  1786-1870,^  extracting  them 
from  the  Bulletins  of  the  Rolls  and  Library  Bureau, 
w^here  they  were  originally  published  as  a  series  of  ap- 
pendixes. Later  there  came  to  the  library  an  edition 
in  beautiful  binding  bearing  the  seal  of  the  State  De- 
partment. A  third  edition  came  out  later  in  the  form 
of  a  sheep  bound  House  Document. 

Many  things  come  out  unbound  earlier,  and  later 
form  part  of  a  bound  volume  which  may  or  may  not 
agree  with  the  earlier  issue.  The  cases  differ.  An  ex- 
ample of  one  case  is  the  Bulletins  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey, which  have  first  publication  each  unbound.  Later 
the  depository  libraries  receive  them  bound  in  volumes. 

4  See  Checklist,  p.  972. 


194  Information  and  Selection 

The  Experiment  Station  Record  and  the  Congressional 
Record  replace  the  separate  issues  with  a  bound  edi- 
tion of  the  completed  volume.  The  Session  or  Pam- 
phlet Laws,  indispensable  as  the  early  first  issue  at  the 
end  of  each  session,  are  superseded  at  the  end  of  the 
Congress  by  the  Statutes  at  Large,  which  contain,  bound 
and  also  rearranged,  all  that  is  in  the  previously  pub- 
lished two  or  three  volumes  of  Pamphlet  Laws.  Of 
course  each  Senate  and  House  Report  and  Document 
appears  in  Washington,  first  and  promptly,  separate  and 
unbound,  and  they  are  later  made  into  volumes,  as  be- 
fore described.^  But  the  depository  libraries  get  them 
at  a  later  date,  after  they  are  bound.  On  the  other 
hand,  of  some  publications,  the  Monthly  Catalog,  for 
instance,  each  issue  must  be  preserved  with  care,  as 
copies  can  not  be  obtained  from  Washington  to  replace 
any  lost. 

Some  unbound  material  is  extracted  from  larger 
works,  and  may  bear  the  paging  of  the  publication  from 
•which  it  is  taken,  or  be  independently  paged.  The 
separate  and  advance  print  without  appendixes  of  the 
report  of  the  head,  which  is  issued  by  most  depart- 
ments and  important  bureaus,  and  which,  when  it  strays 
into  a  library,  is  likely  to  puzzle  a  tyro,  is  the  most  fa- 
miliar instance  of  this.  The  "  separates '"  of  very  many 
scientific,  technical,  statistical,  or  other  such  publica- 
tions—  for  example,  the  Mineral  Resources,  the  Year 
Book  of  the  Agriculture  Department,  the  Proceedings 
of  the  National  Museum,  etc. —  entries  for  which  crowd 
the  Monthly  Catalog,  the  Document  Catalog,  and  the 
Checklist,  usually  bear  the  inclusive  paging  of  the  larger 
work.  This  will  help  to  identify  them  as  "  separates," 
for  it  is  not  easily  recognizable  that  they  are  such,  or 
whence  they  come.  Separates  do  not  come  under  the 
ban  as  wasteful  reprint  editions.  They  are  issued  for 
convenience  of  advance  distribution,  or  for  the  use  of 
those  who  have  need  for  one  part  of  the  work  but  not  for 

5  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  5. 


Information  and  Selection  195 

the  whole;  and  for  those  purposes  are  indispensable. 
The  question  whether  a  library,  when  it  has  the  complete 
work,  should  keep  any  separates  that  may  chance  to  come 
should  generally  be  answered  in  the  negative.  Only 
when  the  demand  for  this  special  material  in  its  place 
among  the  works  on  its  special  subject,  justifies  it,  should 
a  separate  be  kept. 


II 

General  Practice 

As  has  been  said,  library  practice  should  be  identical 
whether  applied  to  government  or  to  non-government 
material,  be  it  books,  serials,  pamphlets,  ephemeral  mat- 
ter for  temporary  keeping,  or  anything  else.  But  the 
great  variety  of  depository  material,  and  the  difficulty 
of  assorting  each  item  so  as  to  assign  to  each  its  appro- 
priate treatment,  invite  discussion.  Therefore  certain 
recommendations,  taken  from  the  experience  of  the 
writer,  are  offered  here,  on  the  chance  that  one  or  an- 
other of  them  may  help  the  inexperienced  librarian. 
Most  of  these  suggestions  apply  equally  to  non-govern- 
mental and  governmental  material  of  the  class  desig- 
nated, and  the  library  that  has  a  well  thought  out  sys- 
tem in  operation  will  have  no  use  for  them.  No  at- 
tempt IS  made  at  giving  complete  instructions  under  any 
topic.  What  is  outlined  here  is  not  put  forward  as  the 
system,  but  as  a  system  which  will  be  found  workable. 
That  a  system  must  be  adopted  as  a  whole,  and  that  to 
take  one  segment  from  one  system  and  another  segment 
from  another  system  will  often  block  the  running,  must 
be  remembered. 

What  IS  meant  by  system?  Each  kind  of  material 
that  comes  to  a  library  has  to  be  "  processed,"  as  it  is 
called  in  the  arts.  Efficiency  principles  apply  here  the 
same  as  in  manufacturing  or  office  work.  Even  the 
arrangement  of  the  work  rooms  enters  into  the  result. 
From  raw  material  to  finish  it  should  pass  as  if  on  a 
gravity  railroad,  without  ever  retracing  a  step,  each  find- 
ing the  process  adapted  to  its  class  without  question  as 
to  which  that  is  —  nothing  done  twice,  every  non-essential 
eliminated,  every  essential  adequately,  well,  and  perma- 

196 


General  Practice  197 

nently  done.  For  the  library  does  not,  like  the  factory 
or  business  house,  make  a  complete  turnover  and  clear- 
ance once  in  so  often.  It  consumes  its  own  finished 
product,  and  its  own  errors  of  judgment  and  execution 
disarrange  its  shelves  and  clutter  up  its  records.  Sys- 
tem does  not  consist  in  picking  up  one  part  of  the  pro- 
cess here  and  another  there,  and  installing  a  patch- 
work routine  in  which  details  jangle  with  each  other 
and  with  facilities  and  conditions,  but  in  perceiving  the 
indispensable,  and  securing  it  in  the  fewest  steps' possi- 
ble. 

The  very  large  libraries,  which  are  building  up  huge 
aggregations  of  government  publications  of  all  the  coun- 
tries on  the  globe  in  document  departments,  are  not  in 
view  here.  The  state  libraries  also  have  problems  and 
use  which  differ  from  those  of  the  public  and  college 
library,  and  will  find  nothing  to  help  them  here.  The 
publications  as  they  are  and  have  been  are  here  treated. 
With  better  bibliographical  methods  in  publishing  this 
material,  much  said  here  would  become  unnecessary. 

The  United  States  publications  as  they  come  to  a  de- 
pository library  are  a  very  heterogeneous  lot  of  mate- 
rial, besides  the  problems  of  various  editions  which  they 
present.  Different  ones  will  call  for  about  as  many  di- 
verse processes  of  treatment  as  the  library  has  in  use, 
with,  possibly,  a  few  extra  ones  expressly  devised  for  the 
government  publications.  The  opening,  checking,  and 
disposal  of  the  shipments  as  they  come  to  the  library 
should  not  be  confided  to  a  mere  clerk.  If  there  is  a 
reference  librarian  specially  deputed  to  care  for  the  gov- 
ernment publications,  he  may  supervise  the  unpacking. 
But  it  would  seem  to  fall  naturally  to  the  chief  of  the 
cataloging  and  classification  to  say  in  what  way  each  kind 
of  material  shall  be  disposed  of,  how  recorded,  and  its 
manner  of  preparation  for  the  shelves ;  also  to  declare 
what  may  be  discarded  and  when.  Constant  consultation 
and  dovetailing  of  system  will  be  necessary  between  the 
head  of  the  cataloging  and  classification  and  the  keeper  of 


igS  General  Practice 

the  serial  check  record.  As  all  library  records  and  meth- 
ods have  for  their  object  to  serve  the  library  staff  —  espe- 
cially tiie  reference  stafif  —  and  the  readers  in  getting  hold 
of  the  books  and  the  material  in  them,  so  here  also  this 
mnst  be  held  in  view  as  the  end  and  object. 

For  purposes  of  discussion  we  may  treat  this  material 
under  the  three  classes  :  —  books,  bound  or  unbound  ;  ° 
pamphlets;  and  serial  publications;  though  this  is  like 
making  the  divisions  of  men,  women,  and  government 
olificials,  for  the  serial  publications  will  include  both 
books  and  pamphlets.  The  treatment  of  each  of  these 
classes  will  follow  the  system  of  the  library  for  non- 
governmental publications  of  the  same  class,  and  the 
government  publications  will  be  entered  in  check  record, 
accession  book,  catalog,  and  shelf  list  side  by  side  with 
and  sandwiched  in  between  non-governmental  books, 
pamphlets,  and  serials.  The  exceptional  case  of  the 
four  series  of  Senate  and  House  Documents  and  Re- 
ports, the  so-called  Congressional  set,  will  be  spoken  of 
in  the  section  on  cataloging.  Pamphlets  also,  and  maps, 
will  be  given  separate  attention  later. 

6  An  important  work  which  comes  unbound  may  be  bound:  or.  if  the 
library  is  not  likely  to  use  it  much,  and  the  material  on  the  shelves  is  well 
taken  care  of,  and  the  binding  fund  is  overdrawn,  it  may  be  protected  by 
outside  covers,  and  accessioned,  cataloged,  and  used  as  if  bound.  This  is 
at  the  discretion  of  the  librarian. 


Ill 

Check  Record  of  Serials 

After  unpacking,  all  separate  publications  of  the  rank 
of  books,  whether  bound  or  unbound,  will  be  sent  on  to 
be  accessioned  and  cataloged.  All  publications  which 
have  a  numbering  continuous  with  others  in  a  series  ^  will 
be  entered  previously  to  this  or  other  disposition  of 
them,  in  the  serial  check  record.  The  four  series  of 
Senate  and  House  Documents  and  Reports  need  not  be 
entered  in  the  serial  check  record,  except  in  case  the 
separate  unbound  publications  of  the  series  are  issued 
to  the  libraries  as  printed.  This  was  done  for  a  few 
years   just  preceding   1910,   but  has  been   discontinued. 

That  the  library  should  make  record  of  every  serial 
issue  under  the  serial  title  immediately  upon  its  coming 
to  the  library,  is  very  essential.  This  record  will  pref- 
erably be  on  cards,  a  separate  card  for  each  title.  The 
purposes  accomplished  by  this  record  are  three.  First, 
it  provides  the  library  with  a  "  tickler,"  by  which  it  can 
ensure  the  getting  regularly  every  issue  of  the  serials  on 
the  list,  without  lapses  or  delay.  A  device  by  which 
this  "  tickler  "  automatically  corrects  itself  annually  has 
been  used  at  the  library  of  the  University  of  Illinois.  A 
box  or  tray  is  used  for  holding  the  cards  which  is 
slightly  wider  than  the  cards.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
year  the  cards  are  all  pushed  to  one  side  of  the  box. 
After  the  last  issue  for  the  year  is  entered  on  each  card, 
it  is  shoved  to  the  other  side  of  the  box.  All  card  rec- 
ords not  so  moved  at  the  end  of  the  year  receive  atten- 
tion. Without  some  such  check  a  lapse  in  coming,  espe- 
cially of  an  annual,  might  not  be  noticed  till  a  reader's 

7  Such  series  as  the  -American  Statesmen  or  English  Men  of  Letters  series 
are  not  meant  here. 

199 


200  Check  Record  of  Serials 

application  called   attention   to  the   lack  of   late   issues. 

Second,  it  provides  the  library  with  a  statement  up  to 
the  minute  of  what  it  possesses  of  each  serial.  Those  se- 
rial issues  that  are  complete,  independent  works  of  a  size 
to  be  shelved  without  delay,  will  be  accessioned  and  cata- 
loged like  other  books,  after  being  recorded.  The 
others  —  by  far  the  majority  —  which  we  may  call  the 
minor  serials,  will  not  appear  in  accession  book  or  cata- 
log until  after  a  period  of  delay  that  may  be  a  year  or  a 
term  of  years.  For  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
catalog  is  not  the  place  to  record,  ordinarily,  what  is 
bibliographically  incomplete,  or  not  in  its  final  shape 
for  preservation ;  and  a  minor  serial  may  wait  for  years 
to  complete  a  volume  or  to  accumulate  enough  to  be 
bound.  And  all  during  this  period  the  check  record 
will  be  the  only  place  which  provides  information  con- 
cerning late  issues  of  each  serial.  This  will  be  more 
fully  discussed  in  the  section  on  cataloging.  It  will  be 
shown  there  that  the  catalog  will  refer  to  the  check  rec- 
ord for  information  which  it  will  not  give  itself.  For 
this  reason  the  form  of  entry  in  this  record  should  be 
the  same  as  that  used  in  the  catalog;  and,  generally,  all 
records  thoughout  the  library,  especially  those  filed  al- 
phabetically, should  use  a  standardized,  uniform  en- 
try. And  because  it  is  an  adjunct  to  the  catalog,  the  head 
of  the  cataloging  should  have  the  right  of  revision  of 
the  serial  record,  and  to  have  included  in  that  record 
whatever  details  are  required  by  him. 

Third,  it  provides  the  most  convenient  place  for  as- 
sembling all  the  other  items  about  these  serials  needed 
for  ordering  them.  The  following  are  details  that  will 
in  general  be  found  worth  while  to  give  on  the  check 
record  card: —  f i)  place  of  publication;  (2)  frequency; 
(3)  number  of  volumes  a  year;  (4)  period  of  complet- 
ing volumes;  (5)  source;  (6)  on  what  terms;  (7) 
list  price;  (8)  net  price;  (9)  date  of  order;  (10) 
date  of  bill;  (11)  period  when  subscription  expires;  (12) 
what  has  been  received  to  date;  and   (13)  call  number 


Check  Record  of  Serials  201 

in  library.  Of  course  not  every  one  of  these  is  used 
for  every  serial,  and  when  (6)  is  iilled  out  with 
*'  gift,"  as  in  the  entry  for  all  United  States  government 
serials,  (7)-(ii)  are  blanks.  When  a  new  serial  begins 
to  come,  the  head  of  the  cataloging  will  supply  a  classi- 
fication and  book  number  in  advance,  together  with  form 
of  entry,  if  the  latter  is  in  doubt.  In  such  a  case  it  is 
not  always  possible  to  ascertain  all  items  in  advance,  nor. 
if  publication  is  only  just  now  started,  to  forecast  how  it 
is  going  to  develop.  Record  can  be  made  and  details 
filled  in  as  they  become  known. 

In  the  case  of  series  of  bulletins,  circulars,  etc.,  each 
issue  of  which  is  a  short  but  distinct  work,  complete  in 
itself,  with  its  separate  author  and  title,  like  the  bulle- 
tins of  the  Education  Bureau,  it  will  be  desirable,  as 
explained  later,  to  make  the  briefest  note  possible  of  the 
author,  the  title,  and  the  date  of  each  issue  along  with 
its  number.  This  may  be  put  on  a  supplementary  card 
or  cards,  if  more  convenient.  A  substitute,  usually  an 
unsatisfactory  one,  is  to  check  the  issues  on  a  printed 
list. 

In  cataloging  a  serial  there  are  four  items  concerning 
it  which  must  in  all  cases  be  stated  if  they  exist  in  the 
serial  in  hand.  These  are: — (i)  the  volume  number 
or  issue  number,  or  both;  (2)  dates  covered  by  the  con- 
tents of  the  issues;  (3)  number  of  volumes;  (4)  first 
and  last  publication  dates,  connected  by  dash.  Of  these 
catalog  items,  the  first  two  belong  in  the  check  record. 
If,  as  in  the  case  of  most  administrative  reports,  there 
is  no  consecutive  numbering,  item  (i)  drops  out.  Sim- 
ilarly, where,  the  serial  being  neither  statistical  nor  ad- 
ministrative, the  period  covered  has  no  significance,  as 
in  the  Farmers'  Bulletins,  item  (2)  vanishes.  But 
when,  like  the  Congressional  Record,  the  serial  supplies 
both  items,  it  will  ensure  accuracy  and  often  save  time 
to  give  both,  not  only  in  the  serial  record,  but  also  in 
lists  of  wanting  parts,  in  orders  —  in  fact,  every  time 
serial  issues  are  quoted.     The  use  of  the  oblique  dash 


202 


Check  Record  of  Serials 


between  dates  in  (2)  adds  definiteness  to  the  initiated, 
though  it  means  nothing  to  the  outside  pubHc.  The 
entry:  ist-5th  report,  1894/5- 1898/9,  is  clearer  by  its 
use. 

The  check  record  of  serials  may  be  on  cards  made  in 
the  following  form.® 

Check  record.     A. 


no_"    Publishing  office 


Title 


Place  of  pub.        Frequency 


No.  of  vols,  a  yr. 


Vols,  begin  and  end  when 


Source 


Terms 


List  price 


Net  price  Order  date  Bill  date  Sub'n  expires 

Vol.     Yr.     Ian.    Feb.    Mar.     Apr.     May    June     luJy    Aug.  Sept    Oct   Nov.     Dec.    Extra     Tpj 


Check  record.     B. 


Call    

no_     Publishing  office 


Title  Place  of  pub.       Frequency 


No.  of  vols,  a  yr. 


Vols,  begin  and  end  when 


Source 


Terms 


List  price 


Net  price  Order  date  Bill  date 

Vol.        Year     Date  rec'd       Vol.       Year     Date  rec'd 


Sub'n  expires 


On  the  reverse  of  the  cards  the  whole  space  can  be 
ruled  and  utilized  for  recording.  Cards  for  recording 
weeklies  and  dailies  will  be  ruled  as  these  periodicities 


8  See  also  Public  Libraries,  15:  181,  1910   (by  Tilton). 


Check  Record  of  Serials  203 

require.  In  case  of  serials  not  monthly,  weekly,  nor 
of  other  regular  periodicity,  as  the  Farmers'  Bulletins, 
their  consecutive  numbers,  e.g.,  i,  2,  3,  etc.,  may  be,  on 
form  A,  entered  in  the  space  for  the  month  in  which  re- 
ceived. Such  bulletins  are  often  so  inconsecutive  that 
the  memorandum  of  the  approximate  date  of  receipt  is 
helpful. 

It  will  probably  be  found  convenient  to  keep  the  cards 
in  two  separate  files,  one  for  annuals,  another  for 
serials  appearing  more  frequently,  and  possibly  a  third 
file  for  such  as  are  temporarily  unsettled  in  status,  or 
those  of  which  only  an  occasional  number  floats  in  upon 
the  library.     But  this  is  a  matter  of  choice. 


IV 

Cataloging  (Excluding  Subject  Cataloging) 

I.  House  and  Senate  four  series 
The  bound  volumes  of  the  four  series  of  Documents 
and  Reports  of  Senate  and  House,  or  so-called  Con- 
gressional set,  it  has  been  said,  are  not  to  be  entered  in 
the  serial  record,  although  each  separate  Document  and 
Report,  if  the  series  were  supplied  in  the  unbound  form, 
would  be.  Only  one  record  of  the  whole  bound  set  is, 
according  to  the  writer's  experience,  necessar}^  This 
record  is  the  shelf  list.  The  entry  there  will  be  under 
the  title  of  each  series,  each  volume  being  entered  sepa- 
rately under  its  volume  number,  e.g.,  Senate  Docu- 
ments, volume  so.  In  the  shelf  list  for  the  Congres- 
sional set  there  will  be  a  column  for  the  serial  number, 
i.e.,  the  consecutive  numbers  which  come  down  from 
the  15th  Congress.  These  serial  numbers,  distinct  for 
each  volume,  will  be  added  to  the  class  and  book  number, 
identical  for  every  volume  of  the  set,  to  make  the  full  call 
number  for  the  volume  (e.g.,  328.73  Un3  6122,  accord- 
ing to  the  Decimal  classification  and  the  Cutter  book  num- 
ber table).  There  will  be  another  column  for  the  short 
title  on  the  back  of  the  volume  indicating  its  con- 
tents, e.g.,  "  Documents  of  a  public  nature  " ;  or  "  De- 
ficiency estimates."  A  sample  of  shelf  list  entries  is 
appended.  (See  Shelf  list,  A.)  The  numbers  of  the 
Reports  or  Documents  included  in  a  volume  can,  ob- 
viously, not  be  given  when  there  are  several  of  them. 
Those  transferred  to  other  classes  will  receive  full  en- 
try in  the  shelf  list  where  transferred.  If  preferred, 
class  and  book  number  as  transferred  may  be  put  in  the 
accession    number    column.     This    will    eliminate    the 

204 


Cataloging 


205 


"  Classed  "  column.     The  contents  title  may  or  may  not 
be  omitted  for  these.     (See  Shelf  list,  B.) 


Shelf  list.     A. 


3-'8.73 

Un3                    L 

.  S.  62d  Congre 

SS,    2( 

session 

Serial 
no. 

Ace.  no. 

Series  title 

Vol. 

Contents  title 

Classed 

6122 

Senate  Reports 

3 

....   Miscellaneous, 

III 
697.  Approps.      for 

rivers  &  har. 

6123 

"            " 

4 

6129 

House    Reports 

1 

....  Miscellaneous, 

I 
Miscellaneous, 

II 

6130 

«            <i 

2 

6140 
6141 

(Omit  no.) 

Senate     Docs. 

I 

112.  Navy  yearbook, 

1883-191 1 

113.  Cong'l   direct'y 

1st  ed. 

3  59Un39 

R328.738 

Una 

6210 
62:1 
6321 

House    Docs. 

28 
29 

139 

511.  Proposals,     En- 
gineer Dept. 
246.   Preservation  of 
Niagara  Falls 
....  Docs,  of  a  pub- 

lie   nature 

Shelf  list.     B. 


328.73 

Un3                    r 

.   S.  62d  Congre 

=  S,    2d 

session 

Serial 
no. 

Ace.  no. 

Series  title 

Vol. 

Contents  title 

6:22 
6123 

Senate 

Reports 

3 

4 

....   Miscellaneous,    III 
697.  Approps.     for     rivers    & 
harbors 

6129 
6130 

House 

Reports 

1 

....  Miscellaneous,   T 
....   Miscellaneous,    II 

6140 

3SoUn39 

Senate 

Docs. 

I 

112.  Xavy    Yearbook,     1883— 

6141 

R32S.73SUn3 

" 

,, 

2 

191 1 
113.   Cong'l  direct'y  I  St  ed. 

6210 
62 1 1 

.  6321 

House 

Docs. 

28 
29 

I -0 

511.  Proposals,    Engineer 

Dept. 
246.  Preservation  of  Niagara 

Falls 
....   Docs,  of  a  nubHc  nature 

Under  the   following  headings   cards   will  be   put   in 
the  catalog :  — 
U.  S.  Congress. 

Congressional  series. 
U.  S.  Congress.     Senate. 

Documents. 
U.S.  Congress.     Senate. 


2o6  Cataloging 

Reports  of  committees. 

U.  S.  Congress.     House   of   Representatives. 
Documents. 

U.  S.  Congress.     House   of   Representatives. 
Reports  of  committees. 

The  call  number,  which  will  have  to  be  for  the  set, 
not  for  each  of  the  four  series  separately  (328.73  Un3 
according  to  the  Decimal  system  and  Cutter  book  number 
table),  will  be  given  its  usual  place  on  the  card.  But 
there  will  be  no  entry  on  any  of  these  cards  other  than 
those  given  above.  A  note,  however,  will  appear  on 
each,  reading  something  like  this :  "  See  shelves ;  also 
shelf  list  for  statement  of  what  the  library  has. 
For  special  Documents  or  Reports  and  subject  mate- 
rial consult  the  Document  Catalog  and  other  govern- 
ment indexes,  also  this  catalog.  Apply  at  desk."  In 
the  opinion  of  the  writer,  these  entries  will  never  be 
looked  for  by  readers.  But  they  elucidate  to  any  one 
who  happens  to  find  them  the  handling  by  the  library 
of  this  class  of  publications,  and  such  elucidations 
should  never  be  lacking. 

Some  one  in  the  library  will  of  course  have  an  eye 
open  for  important  government  matters  as  they  come 
up  in  Washington,  and  be  following  in  the  Monthly 
Catalog  the  material  published  on  them.  Some  sys- 
tem of  temporary  memorandum  of  such  as  are  likely 
to  be  wanted  by  readers  wall  have  to  be  the  reliance, 
until  the  Document  Index,  and  the  index  to  the  Monthly 
Catalog,  loose  and  time-consuming  in  its  references  as  the 
latter  is,  come,  to  direct  to  material  on  all  subjects.  If 
a  desired  publication  is  a  House  or  Senate  Document,  its 
number  in  the  series  should  be  noted.  When  received  in 
this  form  and  no  other,  and  it  is  certain  that  its  use  will  be 
much  increased  if  it  is  classed  with  the  books  on  its  sub- 
ject—  say  the  report  of  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  with 
the  books  on  banking  —  no  hesitation  need  be  felt  to 
transfer  it  bodily  to  the  subject  place.     When  this  is  done. 


Cataloging  207 

entry  for  it  in  the  shelf  list  of  the  Congressional  set  will 
include  the  call  number  to  which  transferred.  This  call 
number  must  also  be  noted  opposite  the  volume  in  the 
Schedule  of  Volumes  at  the  end  of  the  Document  Index. 

The  catalog,  then,  will  have  no  complete  entry  for 
all  or  any  of  the  Congressional  series,  but  only  a  refer- 
ence to  the  shelf  list.  Each  individual  Report  and 
Document  which  it  is  thought  advisable  to  catalog,  how- 
ever, will  be  handled  as  a  distinct  work  —  of  course 
with  its  series  note  in  curves  at  the  end  of  the  entry. 
But  no  entry  for  the  series  will  be  made  in  the  case  of 
the  individual  work  either.  This  series  note  comprises 
when  complete  eight  items,  viz.:  (i)  U.  S. ;  (2)  num- 
ber of  Congress;  (3)  number  of  session;  (4)  which 
house;  (5)  Document  or  Report;  (6)  number  of  Docu- 
ment or  Report;  (7)  volume  number  in  series;  (8) 
serial  number.  A  sample  series  note  in  full  is  the  fol- 
lowing for  volume  nine  of  the  Document  Catalog:  '*  (U. 
S.  60th  Congress,  26.  session.  House  Document  1574. 
In  vol.  151  ;  5561)."  ^  Order  of  items,  punctuation,  etc., 
will  be  settled  by  each  library  for  itself,  and  then  used 
uniformly.  For  the  period  since  the  numbering  of  the 
Documents  and  Reports  began  to  be  continuous  through 
a  Congress,  without  break  for  sessions,  (3)  is  not  in- 
dispensable. When  many  volumes  of  different  Con- 
gresses, as  a  file  of  annual  reports,  for  instance,  are  in 
one  entry,  the  note  will  read:  e.g.,  "  (U.  S.  Congress. 
House  Document.     Number  varies)." 

For  Reports,  the  heading,  or  official  author,  will  be 
uniformly:  "  U.  S.  Congress.  Senate  Tor  House), 
name  of  committee  •"     For     Documcnts     the     headings 

will  be  as  diverse  as  there  are  official  authors  of  the 
United  States,  besides  unofficial  authors  in  every  va- 
riety. The  Document  Catalog  may  be  consulted  to  de- 
termine what  official  body  is  author  of  any  Document. 
For  some  documents,  "  U.  S.  Congress,"  or  "  U.  S.  Con- 

■    9  See  also  Legislative  Publications:  II.  The  Serially  Numbered  Set,  p.  124. 


2o8  Cataloging 

gress.  Senate,''  or  "  U.  S.  Congress.  House,"  is  the 
official  author.  But  very  rarely  will  there  be  needed 
the  very  unpractical  heading  including  the  number  of 
Congress  and  session,  e.g.,  "  U.  S.  63d  Congress.  3d 
session."  A  more  practical  one,  which  brings  things  to- 
gether on  some  classification  basis,  can  usually  be  sub- 
stituted. For  instance,  memorial  addresses  of  whatever 
Congress  are  better  grouped  under  "  U.  S.  Congress. 
Memorial  addresses";  or  '*  U.  S.  Congress.  Senate  (or 
House).  IMemorial  addresses,"  rather  than  scattered 
each  under  the  number  of  Congress  and  session  in  which 
uttered.  The  phrase,  "  Memorial  addresses,"  being  a 
catchword  inserted  in  the  heading  to  make  a  grouping, 
will  be  omitted  in  the  subject  entry.  The  same  method 
applies  to  the  directories  of  Congress,  to  the  manuals 
of  Senate  and  House,  the  reports  of  their  officers,  etc. 
This  insertion  of  a  topic  catchword  to  form  groupings 
is  made  much  use  of  in  the  Document  Catalog. 

For  each  library,  or  for  any  library  to  catalog  every 
Document  and  Report  would  be  an  act  of  foolishness 
and  supererogation.  The  Document  Catalog  does  this 
finally,  and  other  aids  supplied  by  the  Documents  Office 
help  out  till  that  appears.  For  how  many  of  the  gov- 
ernment publications  each  library  shall  make  entry  in 
its  own  catalog,  is  for  each  library  to  decide,  according 
to  the  use  and  needs  of  its  readers.  Generally  speak- 
ing, most  of  the  departmental  reports  and  separate  pub- 
lications of  importance  should  be  in  the  library's  cata- 
log. For  most  of  the  Congressional  Reports  and  the 
minor  Documents,  dependence  on  the  Document  Cata- 
log and  Monthly  Catalog  is  recommended. 

In  the  second  paragraph  of  this  section  it  is  recom- 
mended that  an  individual  Document  wanted  for  use  be 
classed  and  shelved  with  the  books  of  its  subject.  It 
may,  if  that  is  the  system  adopted,  be  cataloged  and 
still  left  in  place  among  the  Documents.^^     It  will  then, 

10  For  further  discussion  see  in  this  section,  topic  VIII,  Classification, 
P-  23S- 


Cataloging  209 

of  course,  have  the  call  number  of  the  Congressional 
set,  below  which  may  be  added  the  serial  number  of 
the  individual  volume.  Where  it  is  a  file  of  annual  re- 
ports or  of  some  other  serial  that  one  desires  to  cata- 
log and  still  leave  each  in  its  separate  place  by  Con- 
gress and  session,  it  will  be  difficult  to  give  on  the  cata- 
log card  the  location  of  each  volume.  Instead  of  at- 
tempting this  on  the  catalog  card  it  will  be  better  to 
refer  to  the  latest  issue  of  a  printed  table  that  lists  the 
serial  numbers  of  annual  reports  and  other  such  pub- 
lications.^^ This  list  will  probably  always  fall  short 
by  some  issues  of  being  complete  to  date. 

If  the  library  has  the  plain  title  edition  of  a  work, 
that  is  the  one  to  be  classed  by  subject  and  cataloged. 
If  the  House  or  Senate  Document  edition  be  also  in  the 
library,  how  that  shall  appear  in  the  catalog,  or  whether 
it  shall  appear  at  all,  will  be  according  to  the  labor  the 
library  devotes  to  its  cataloging.  Full  entry  may  be 
made  for  it  as  an  added  edition.  Or  there  may  be 
given  only  the  note :  "  Also  in  the  Congressional  set : 
328.7^  Un^— ;; — ; ." 

0/0  o      Serial  no. 

In  cataloging  a  minor  Senate  or  House  Document, 
either  with  or  without  a  title-page,  excessive  verbiage 
may  be  perplexing.^-  Apply  the  general  rule,  which 
permits  omissions  ad  libitiiui  (indicating  each  omission 
by  three  dots,  and  retaining  the  opening  words  unless  un- 
desirable) ;  and  insertions  (within  brackets)  of  explana- 
tory words,  if  necessary;  but  all  without  the  slightest 
alteration  or  rearrangement. 

In  the  case  of  the  Reports,  as  has  been  said,  the  prob- 
lem frequently  is  where  to  find  on  the  Report  itself 
w'ords  which  will  make  a  satisfactory  title."     The  Li- 

11  See  U.  S.  Congress.  Senate.  Finding  list  to  important  serial  docu- 
ments published  by  the  government  in  the  library  of  the  United  States 
Senate;  prepared  by  James  !M.  Baker.  1901.  281  p.  (S.  Doc.  238,  s6th 
Cong.,  2(1  sess.     In  v.   15:  404.3.) 

l-'or  same  list  brought  to  later  date  see  U.  S.  Congress.  Senate.  Cata- 
logue of  the  library  of  the  United  States  Senate.  1908.  600  p.  il.  p.  i57- 
383.     Xo   Document  edition. 

12  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  4,  p.   68. 

13  See  also   Legislative   Publications:   \I.   Reports  of  Committees,  p.    140. 


210  Cataloging 

brary  of  Congress  catalog  and  the  Document  Catalog 
differ  more  in  their  entries  for  Congressional  Reports 
than  for  any  other  kind  of  publication.  The  entry  is 
given  in  the  Document  Catalog  only  once,  i.e.,  under 
subject  —  or  subjects,  if  it  requires  more  than  one. 
Under  personal  name  of  senator  or  representative,  and 
under  committee,  only  a  reference  to  the  subject  entry 
is  given.  Until  December,  1915,  the  beginning  of  the 
64th  Congress,  it  ignored  the  catch  title  printed  on  the 
Report,  and  itself  made  up  a  title  according  to  a  form 
which  is  explained  in  its  preface.  The  entry  was  as  ioU 
lows: — (i)  subject  heading;  (2)  personal  name  head- 
ing J  (3)  title,  reading:  Report  from  , 

name  of  committee 

favoring  (or  adverse  to,  rarely  other  variations)  , 


no.  of  bill 

^^^^^  ^^  ^^^n .     Words  necessary  to  make  the  purpose  of 

the  bill  clear  are  added  to  the  title  of  the  bill  in  brackets. 
The  subject  of  the  Report  is  told  in  the  title  of  the  bill. 
Since  December,  1915,  the  entry  is: —  (i)  subject  head- 
ing; (2)  committee  heading;  (3)  title,  reading; , 

catch  title 

report  to  accompany  no.  of  bin  t.tie  of  b.ii  i. '  submit- 
ted bv   j .     The  Library  of  Congress 

persona!   name  -'  o 

gives  for  title  (under  the  heading,  "  U.  S.  Congress.  Sen- 
ate  (or  House).  7 ■ ")   nothing  but  the 

ixk.^     ^^wl     j.j.vyi..v^v.  y  .  name  of  C(nnmitiec  -'  ° 

catch  title  and  other  words  found  on  the  Report,  without 
the  title  of  the  bill,  and  provides  the  necessary  explana- 
tions and  extra  details  in  copious  notes.  Subject  entries 
correspond. 

2.     Corporate  and  other  non-snhject  entries 
A    previous    section    has    explained    why   the    catalog 
should  use  in  most  cases  the  publishing  office  as  the  au- 
thor of  a  government  publication  instead  of  the  actual 
person  or  persons  who  prepared  it.^'^     Directions  given 

14  Title  of  bill  is  not  always  given. 

15  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  3,  p.  66. 


Cataloging  211 

in  the  A.  L.  A.  Catalog  Rules,  under  "  Corporate  Bodies 
As  Authors :  Government  Publications,"  or  the  same  in 
other  cataloging  codes,  should  be  followed.  Contrary 
to  the  recommendation  of  some  authorities,  it  is  advised 
that  no  library,  not  even  the  smallest,  shall  omit  the  gov- 
ernment author  entry. ^*^  That  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hun- 
dred readers  do  not  know  and  will  not  look  for  this 
government  author  entry,  and  will  find  the  work,  if  at 
all,  by  its  subject  entry,  is  not  denied;  but  the  argu- 
ment is  equally  good  for  omitting  author  entry  of 
much  popular  fiction  and  juveniles.  Also,  the  public  is 
coming  to  know  some  of  the  government  publishing 
bodies,  each  individual  the  ones  that  touch  his  own 
private  interests.  The  automobilist  learns  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  through  its  topographic  sheets,  or  road 
maps,  as  he  calls  them;  the  manufacturer,  of  the  Stand- 
ards Bureau  through  its  tests  of  materials.  The  farmer 
knows  the  Agriculture  Department ;  the  railroad  man. 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission ;  the  county  su- 
pervisor, the  Public  Roads  and  Rural  Engineering  Of- 
fice ;  the  banker,  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency ;  the 
teacher,  the  Education  Bureau ;  and  so  on.  Clearer  and 
better  acquaintance  with  the  specializing  publishing 
bodies  will  come  as  the  government's  publishing  methods 
are  simplified.  The  library,  the  people's  university. 
which  should  always  be  one  step  higher  and  pulling  the 
public  up  w^ith  it,  should  educate  the  public  into  definite 
knowledge  of  government  authors  by  using  them  in  its 
catalog.  Loose  records  make  vague  and  inefficient 
knowledge.  When  a  reader  is  made  to  look  under  the 
name  of  the  publishing  office  for  a  work  giving  informa- 
tion which  he  is  seeking,  ten  to  one  he  will  find  there 
other  helpful  publications  of  the  same  bureau,  and  the 
source  is  disclosed  to  him  whence  government  help  in 
his  line  may  be  sought.  The  omission  of  the  govern- 
ment author  entry  deprives  the  one  reader  who   looks 

IG  See  J.  I.  Wyer,  U.   S.  government  documents  in  small  libraries,   1914, 
p.  25. 


212  Cataloging 

for  it  of  the  answer  to  the  question  he  puts  to  the  cata- 
log: what  pubhcations  by  this  bureau  are  to  be  had  in 
this  library  ? 

Discussions  have  taken  place  at  library  meetings  as 
to  which  of  several  possible  entries  (exclusive  of  sub- 
ject entry) — government  author,  title,  personal  author, 
etc. —  is  best  choice  for  a  government  publication. 
These  discussions  seem  to  the  writer  all  equally  futile. 
The  obvious  solution  is  to  make  them  all.  Make  always 
(it  is  a  universal  rule  for  a  good  catalog)  every  entry 
under  which  it  can  be  imagined  that  any  fairly  intelli- 
gent person  will  by  any  possibility  look.  It  is  better  to 
make  unreasonable,  foolish  entries  than  to  fail  to  give 
readers  every  possible  clue.  Small  libraries  need  sim- 
ple catalogs,  but  simplicity  should  be  sought  in  omis- 
sion of  bibliographical  detail  and  in  substituting  refer- 
ences for  complete  entries,  and  in  other  economies,  some 
of  which  will  be  suggested  here,  rather  than  in  with- 
holding the  life  lines  which  the  reader,  floundering  in 
the  catalog,  needs. 

It  must  be  explained  immediately  that  not  all  these 
entries  will  be  careful,  complete  statements  of  the  material 
which  the  library  has.  Many  will  be  only  guideposts, 
references  giving  the  reader  general  directions  where  in 
other  parts  of  the  catalog  he  will  find  this  information. 
Among  the  most  general  of  these  will  be  references  under 
su-ch  words  as  Report,  Bulletin,  Proceedings,  etc.,  direct- 
ing the  reader  to  look  under  the  name  of  the  body  making 
the  report,  etc.  Under  "  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion "  there  will  be  found  a  reference  to  "  U.  S.  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission."  If  the  reference  is  for  a  defi- 
nite work,  the  call  number  may  be  given  with  the  refer- 
ence, so  that  the  publication  may  be  sent  for  without  being 
obliged  to  look  at  the  entry  to  which  one  is  referred. 

Title  entries,  which  may  be  entries  or  references,  as 
economy  dictates,  will  be  made  freely.  They  will  be  made 
not  only  for  actual  titles,  as :  *'  Commerce  Reports," 
"  Farmers'  Bulletins,"  "  Statistical  Abstract "' ;  but  also  for 


Cataloging  213 

any  names  under  which  a  pubHcation  has  come  to  be 
known,  as :  "  Horse  Book  " ;  "  Interstate  Commerce  Re- 
ports," by  which  lawyers  quote  the  Opinions  of  the  com- 
mission ;  or  "  Uncle  Sam's  Cook  Book,"  which  last  desig- 
nates not  one  book,  but  a  list  of  United  States  publications 
on  the  topic  put  out  under  that  attractive  title. 

Personal  author  entry  (which  also  may  in  most  cases 
be  a  reference)  is  where  the  rule  given,  to  satisfy  every 
conceivable  search,  meets  its  limitations.  It  is  imprac- 
ticable for  the  general  library  to  refer  from  the  personal 
name  of  each  secretary  of  the  Treasury,  from  Hamilton 
down,  to  the  United  States  Treasury  Department,  al- 
though the  A.  L.  A.  Catalog  Rules  direct  such  a  refer- 
ence for  current  reports  of  departments,  and  the  Docu- 
ment Catalog  makes  not  only  this  but  other  personal 
name  references.  The  needs  of  the  historian  who  looks 
for  a  treaty  under  the  diplomat  who  carried  it  through ; 
of  the  politician  w^ho  knows  the  report  of  a  commission 
only  by  the  name  of  its  chairman ;  of  the  mining  en- 
gineer who  knows  the  man  who  surveyed  a  claim  but 
not  the  bureau  which  published  his  report ;  and  of  divers 
others,  can  never  be  fully  met  in  cataloging  govern- 
ment publications.  The  partial  solution  of  the  personal 
entry  problem  —  it  can  not  be  fully  solved  except  by  a 
mere  elaborate  catalog  than  any  reader  of  this  is  likely 
to  find  means  to  make  —  is  in  extending  a  helping  hand 
here  and  there;  e.g.,  when  the  name  of  the  publishing 
body  is  unlikely  to  be  known,  or  the  personal  author  has 
been  long  or  prominently  connected  with  the  work,  as 
was  Carroll  D.  Wright  with  the  United  States  Labor 
Bureau.  The  explorations  of  the  western  United  States 
made  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  have  long 
and  cumbersome  names,  viz.,  Geographical  and  Geologi- 
cal Survey  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Region ;  Geological 
and  Geographical  Survey  of  the  Territories ;  Geograph- 
ical Surveys  West  of  the  looth  Meridian.  They  are  bet- 
ter known  under  their  directors,  respectively  Powell, 
Hayden,  and  Wheeler.     A  reference  under  each  name 


214  Cataloging 

directing  to  the  government  author  entry,  where  will  be 
found  brought  together  every  one  of  its  publications, 
will  be  best,  for  this  and  other  more  technical  reasons. 

A  large  number  of  personal  names  enter  the  catalog" 
in  so-called  analytical  work,  i.e.,  (i)  cataloging  sepa- 
rately a  certain  chapter  or  certain  pages  in  a  work;  or 
(2)  cataloging  each  of  a  set  of  bulletins  or  other  series 
as  a  distinct  work.  The  personal  author  is  the  proper 
and  only  author  of  many,  perhaps  a  majority  of  these 
cases.  A  typical  case  is  the  Bulletins  of  the  Education 
Bureau.  Series  entry,  with  list  of  the  Bulletins  —  or, 
better,  reference  to  the  bureau's  printed  list  of  them  — 
will  be  made  under  "  U.  S.  Education  Bureau."  Each 
separate  Bulletin  will  be  cataloged  as  a  distinct  work. 
All  that  have  personal  authors  will  be  entered  under 
those  authors'  names.  Each  one  that  has  no  author  other 
than  the  bureau  may  be  cataloged  with  the  bureau  for 
its  individual  author  entry.  But  as  an  economy  it  is 
suggested  that  no  author  entry  for  these  be  put  in  the 
catalog,  and  that  the  series  card  state  the  omission  in  a 
note  reading  somewhat  like  this :  "  No  other  entry  under 
U.  S.  Education  Bureau  besides  this  is  made  for  any  bul- 
letin. But  see  separate  entries  under  subjects  of  each, 
and  under  all  individual  authors."  This  recommended 
omission  of  "  U.  S.  Education  Bureau  "  as  author  entry 
for  the  single  bulletin  would  not  extend  to  the  subject 
entry,  where  the  words,  "  U.  S.  Education  Bureau," 
would  appear  twice :  once  as  individual  author  next  after 
the  subject  heading;  and  again  in  the  series  note  at  the 
end  of  the  entry. 

Analytical  cataloging  must  be  balanced,  both  as  to 
selection  and  amount,  by  the  time  and  money  the  library 
can  devote  to  it.  To  reach  the  greatest  results  with  its 
time  and  money,  the  library  is  advised  to  refer  often  on 
its  catalog  cards  to  printed  indexes ;  to  lists  on  flyleaves 
of  latest  issue  or  in  pamphlet  form ;  to  tables  of  con- 
tents in  printed  catalogs ;  or  a  printed  list  may  be  some- 
times clipped  and  pasted  on  the  catalog  card.     All  lists 


Cataloging  215 

and  indexes  so  referred  to  should  be  kept,  so  far  as 
other  use  allows,  close  at  hand,  preferably  on  top  of  the 
catalog  case;  and  the  shelf  list,  and  a  dummy  in  the  place 
from  which  it  is  transferred  for  this  reference  use, 
should  state  distinctly  where  each  can  be  found. 

Which  of  all  the  entries  made  shall  be  fixed  upon  to 
be  what  is  technically  termed  "  main  entry,''  can  not  be 
laid  down  absolutely  for  every  case ;  but  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  it  will  be  best  to  make  the  government 
author  the  main  entry.  "  In  a  card  catalog  the  main 
entry  contains  (generally  on  the  back)  a  record  of  all 
the  other  entries  made  " ;  ^"  also  the  accession  number, 
perhaps  other  cataloger's  data.  Also,  as  usually  the 
subject,  title,  and  other  "  added "  entries  are  identical 
with  the  main  entry  except  for  the  printing  subject  or 
title  or  other  added  heading  above  the  main  entry 
words,  the  choice  of  main  entry  determines  the  place  of 
all  added  entries  in  the  alphabetizing,  and  involves  the 
risk  that  the  entry  may  not  be  found  when  wanted.  For 
instance,  under  the  subject  "  Commerce  "  there  will  be 
many  cards  to  finger.  The  Commerce  Reports,  if  the 
main  entry  is  the  title,  will  be  found  under  "  Commerce  " 
in  the  sub-alphabet  under  C,  thus : 

Commerce. 

Commerce  reports. 
If  the  main  entry  is  the  government  author,  it  will  be 
in  quite  another  place,  under  U,  thus : 
Commerce. 

U.  S.     Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce  Bureau. 
Commerce  reports. 

Further,  that  part  of  the  call  number  which  is  called 
the  book  number  is  usually  taken  from  the  main  entry, 
although  this  is  not  necessarily  so.  This  book  number 
determines  the  subarrangement  on  the  shelves.  There 
will  be  long  rows  of  volumes  in  class  Commerce  on  the 

17  A.   L.  A.   Catalog   Rules.     Boston,   1908.     p.  xv. 


2i6  Cataloging 

shelves.  And  if  the  book  number  begins  with  C  the 
student  who  searches  for  it  under  U  may  go  away  with- 
out finding  it.  Uniformity  in  the  choice  of  main  entry 
prevents  that  erratic  usage  which  wastes  the  time  of  the 
library  staff  and  of  the  readers  by  their  never  knowing 
where  they  will  find  thmgs.  Controversy  between  ad- 
vocates of  personal,  title,  or  government  author  main 
entry,  respectively,  thus  simmers  down  to  minute  techni- 
cal details  the  bearings  of  which  only  experienced  work- 
ers can  appreciate,  and  which  the  public  and  many  head 
librarians  will  deride  as  having  no  worth  or  significance, 
simply  because  they  do  not  know  the  often  large  re- 
sults in  practical  working  of  these  seeming  trifles. 

The  Library  of  Congress  is  a  safe  guide  to  follow  in 
choosing  a  main  entry ;  but  one  must  sedulously  sift  out 
and  avoid  adopting  headings  —  and  subjects  as  well  — 
used  in  entries  prepared  by  the  libraries  of  certain  de- 
partments and  bureaus  of  Washington  and  supplied  to 
the  Library  of  Congress  by  them.^^  These  do  not  follow 
A.  L.  A.  and  Library  of  Congress  rules  —  the  two  are  in 
the  main  identical ;  but  are  according  to  forms  in  use  in 
the  catalogs  of  the  contributing  bureaus,  perhaps  started 
before  these  rules  were  formulated.  Cards  contributed 
by  some  of  these  libraries  need  to  be  corrected  as  to 
heading  before  being  filed  in  any  catalog  that  conforms 
to  Library  of  Congress  usage. 

3.     Serials  ^^ 

The  four  series  of  Senate  and  House  Documents  and 
Reports  are  not  included  in  this  section.  Works  which, 
like  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Compilation  of  Official 
Records,   are   projected   to   be   completed   in   a   definite 

18  For  Irst  of  department  libraries  supplying  entries  see  Library  of  Con- 
gress, Card  Section,  Handbook  of  card  distribution.  1914.  p.  5.  The  De- 
partment of  Agriculture  library  supplies  the  most  notably  variant  headings 
in  government  authors.  The  subiect  headings  suggested  by  some  of  the 
others  differ  considerably  from  those  used  by  the  Library  of  Congress. 

19  See  Price  List  36  of  the  Documents  Office:  Government  Periodicals, 
including  only  those  sold  by  the  office.  It  contains  examples  of  all  three 
types. 


Cataloging  217 

limit  of  time  and  volumes,  but  which  come  out  in  parts 
at  intervals,  are  not  serials  as  the  term  is  used  here. 

Three  types 

To  bring  clearly  before  the  mind's  eye  what  are  under 
discussion  here  as  government  serials,  they  may  be 
thought  of  in  three  types.  Any  serial,  however,  may 
have  mixed  characteristics  of  two  or  three  types,  and  a 
rigid  sorting  into  classes  is  not  intended. 

Type  I  is  in  the  ordinary  magazine  form,  successive 
issues  having  identical  title,  usually  consecutive  num- 
bering and  paging,  and  forming  volumes  at  fixed  inter- 
vals. Examples  are  the  IMonthly  Weather  Review,  the 
Experiment  Station  Record,  the  Journal  of  Agricultural 
Research,  the  Congressional  Record,  the  Commerce  Re- 
ports, and  others.  The  contents  of  each  issue  are  usu- 
ally diversified. 

In  type  2  the  successive  issues  have  each  an  identi- 
cal series  title,  as  Bulletm,  Circular,  etc.,  and  usually 
consecutive  numbering.  But  each  is  a  separate,  com- 
plete, though  usually  small  work,  with  its  own  author 
(frequently  a  person,  not  a  government  body),  and  an  in- 
dividual title  additional  to  the  series  title.  It  may  or  may 
not  be  separately  paged,  made  up  into  volumes,  etc. 
Examples  are  the  Farmers'  Bulletins,  the  Bulletins  of 
the  Education  Bureau,  of  the  Agriculture  Department, 
etc.  The  Bulletin  of  the  Pan  American  Union  has  the 
title  Bulletin,  but  the  characteristics  of  type  i. 

Type  3  includes  all  the  administrative  reports  and 
their  kin.  The  successive  issues  have  uniform  title  and 
scope  of  contents.  Each  is  a  distinct  work,  even  if  of 
only  two  or  three  pages.  They  are  issued  at  longer  in- 
tervals, a  year  usually,  or  even  longer,  with  or  without 
consecutive  numbering.  The  fiscal  year  of  the  United 
States  runs  from  July  i  of  one  year  to  June  30  of  the 
next,  and  almost  all  the  annual  reports  are  now  stand- 
ardized to  cover  it.  Some  of  the  Census  Bureau  re- 
ports are  quinquennial,  or  otherwise  vary  from  annual. 


2i8  Cataloging 

The  Official  Register,  now  published  by  the  Census  Bu- 
reau, is  l)iennial. 

The  one  essential  in  cataloging  serials  is  to  bring  all 
issues  together  under  one  main  entry  in  the  catalog, 
and,  of  course,  together  on  the  shelves.-** 

Main  entry 

The  main  entry  for  serials  will  usually  be  best  made 
under  government  author,  certainly  in  the  case  of  types 
2  and  3.  In  the  case  of  type  i,  to  make  main  entry  under 
title,  instead  of  the  bureau  which  issues  it,  would  seem 
to  work  no  harm,  especially  where,  like  the  Commerce 
Reports,  the  bureau  has  changed  once  or  twice. 

In  type  2,-^  the  Education  Bureau  Bulletin,  for  in- 
stance, the  entry  which  brings  all  issues  together  is  a 
series  entry,  of  course  under  government  author. 

To  use  the  very  briefest  title  for  a  serial  is  always 
advisable,  thereby  excluding  the  variations  so  likely  to 
be  found  in  the  latter  or  minor  part  of  the  titles  in  a 
long  file  of  issues.  These  variations  may  be  stated  in 
a    note,    if    desired.     "  Report,"    or    "  Annual    report," 

20  An  example  among  the  cards  supplied  by  the  Library  of  Congress 
which  violates  this  rule,  and  which  works  badly  in  the  catalog,  is  the  entry 
for  the  set  of  reports  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  It  was  made  by 
the  library  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  printed  and  distributed 
by  the  Library  of  Congress.  The  continuous  set  is  cataloged  in  two  en- 
tries, both  under  the  heading,  "  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture."  One 
gives  the  title  as  "  Report  of  the  secretary  of  agriculture,"  and  records  all 
from  1862  down  through  1893.  The  second  gives  the  title  as  "  Annual 
reports  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  .  .  .  Report  of  the  secretary  of 
agriculture.  Departmental  reports,"  and  records  the  remainder  of  the  set, 
from  1894  down.  When  filed  alphabetically  in  the  catalog,  the  two  entries 
are  quite  far  apart,  other  titles  coming  in  between  them.  The  reader  is  in 
danger  of  concluding  that  the  one  entry  he  happens  to  find  shows  all  the 
library  has,  overlooking  the  mention  of  the  other  reports  that  is  made  in 
a  note.  Straight  directions  from  one  card  to  the  other:  —  e.g.,  "For  re- 
ports prior  to  1894,  see  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture.  Report  of  the  secretary 
of  agriculture";  and  "For  reports  of  1894  and  following  years  see  U.  S. 
Dept.  of  Agriculture.  Annual  reports  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  " — 
are  lacking.  And  in  such  a  case  the  public  should  never  be  left  without 
directions  so  prominent  and  so  plain  that  they  can  not  be  overlooked  or 
misunderstood.  It  is  true  the  title  did  change  as  these  entries  show,  but 
for  practical  purposes  it  would  be  better  were  the  whole  set  under  the  later 
title,  with   note   of  and   reference   from  the  earlier   form. 

21  See  also  p.  201   and  p.  214. 


Cataloging  219 

"  Bulletin,"  "  Circular,"  are  long  enough  titles  in  the 
majority  of  cases.  Although  the  Document  Catalog 
under  "  Smithsonian  Institution  "  gives  title  in  full  as  fol- 
lows :  ''  Annual  report  of  board  of  regents  of  Smith- 
sonian Institution  " ;  yet  the  library  that  makes  its  own 
catalog  will  gain  nothing  by  using  a  title  as  full  as  this. 
If  title  does  not  state  frequency  of  publication  (in 
types  I  and  2),  or  period  covered  by  contents  (in  type 
3),  a  note  should  state  it. 

Four  items 

As  has  been  before  noted,  there  are  four  items  in 
cataloging  serials  which  must  be  thought  of,  and,  if  the 
publication  has  them,  must  be  stated  in  the  entry. -- 
These  are :  —  ( i )  the  volume  number  or  issue  number 
or  both;  (2)  the  dates  covered  by  the  contents;  (3)  the 
number  of  volumes;  and  (4)  the  first  and  last  dates  of 
publication,  (i)  and  (2)  are  part  of  the  title,  but  may, 
in  the  case  of  current  and  incomplete  sets,  for  the  sake 
of  clearness  and  convenience,  be  given  separately  in 
tabulated  form  under  the  heading:  "Library  has." 
(3)  goes  in  the  collation;  (4),  in  the  imprint.  As  to 
(3),  if  ten  volumes,  say,  have  been  bound  in  one,  it  will 
read:  "10  vols,  in  i."  If  any  are  unbound  a  pencil 
note  will  state  it.  If  a  report  is  regularly  or  occa- 
sionally more  than  one  volume,  (3)  will  give  the  total 
number.  The  accession  numbers  will  alone  supply  data 
as  to  how  many  volumes  each  annual  issue  comprises. 

The  accession  numbers  may,  in  the  case  of  serials,  be 
left  off  the  catalog  card,  a  reference  to  see  the  shelf 
list  for  them  being  substituted. 

"  Library  has  "  forms 

(i)  and  (2)  tabulated  should  be  always  on  an  added 
card  which  may  be  cut  down  at  the  top  to  the  depth  of 
the  heading  on  the  first,  or  main  card,  and  which  will  be 
tied  to  the  main  card.     A  sample  entry  follows. 

22  See  also  p.  201. 


220 
Card   1  -3 


Cataloging 


173.4 
Un3 

U.    S.    Interstate    Conciliation 
Board. 

Annual    report. 

and    Arbitration 

Wasiiington,    D.   C,   1916-20. 

3v.  22  cm. 

Report  year  ends  June  30. 

Card   2 


Library  has: 
1st,  1915/16 

4tli,   1918/19 

5th,  1919/20 

• 

Catalog  entry  for  incomplete  file 

When  the  file  becomes  complete  by  the  library's  ac- 
quiring all  that  has  been  or  is  to  be  published,  the  "  Li- 
brary has  "  card  is  canceled,  and  the  entry  will  then  be 
filled  in  to  read  as  follows. 


173.4     U.     S.     Interstate     Conciilation     and    Arbitration 
Un3  Board. 

1st-5th   annual   report,    1915/16-1919/20. 

Washington,    D.    C,    1916-20,     5v.   22   cm. 

Report  year  ends  June  30. 


Catalog  entry  for  completed  file ;   "  Library  has  "  card  canceled 

Current  additions. 
Adding  to  the  "  Library  has  "  catalog  record  the  vol- 
umes of  current  serials  in  permanent  form  for  the 
shelves  as  they  come  along,  entails  an  amount  of  labor 
undreamed  of  by  one  without  experience  of  it.  To  save 
labor  the  "  Library  has  "  record  should  be  attached  to 
the  main  entry  only,  and  all  other  cards  for  the  serial 
will  bear  a  note  that  will  read :  *'  For  statement  of  what 
the  library  has  see  — main  entry •" 

23  Actual  examples  include  details  which  present  complications.  So  an 
imaginary  report  is  given  here,  supposed  to  have  run  five  years,  and  then 
to  have  stopped  publication. 


Cataloging  221 

But  economy  can  go  beyond  this,  in  cataloging  cur- 
rent serials,  at  least.  If  the  file  is  unbroken  from  the 
beginning,  or  from  the  first  which  the  library  has,  the  "  Li- 
brary has  "  record  may  be  omitted  even  from  the  main  en- 
try.    All  entries  will  read  alike:     '' — —  date." 

1st  no.   ot   hie 

(It  is  well  to  write  the  word  "date"  in  pencil.)  Thus, 
using  the  example  before  given,  the  entry  for  the  set  in 
1 9 19,  it  being  current  in  that  year,  will  read  thus,  item 
(3)  dropping  out. 


173.4     U.    S.     Interstate    Conciliation    and    Arbitration 
Un3  Board. 

1st — date    annual    report,    1915/16 — date. 

Washington,   D.  C,  1916 — date.  22  cm. 

Report  year  ends  June  30. 


Catalog  entry  for  current  serial,  unbroken  file 

If  this  economy  is  adopted,  there  must  be  an  unim- 
peachable check  record  of  receipt,  and  a  "  tickler  "  sys- 
tem which  ensures  that  any  stoppage  or  change  shall  be 
immediately  reported  by  the  check  record  clerk  to  the 
catalog  department,  so  that  the  catalog  may  not  go  on 
recording  a  serial  as  current  which  has  long  since 
changed  title  or  gone  out  of  existence.  The  data  con- 
cerning the  bound  volumes  of  serials  which  in  this  method 
the  catalog  withholds  will  be  provided  by  the  shelf 
list,  where  each  must  be  carefully  entered  as  the  library's 
sole  record  of  them,  and  for  purposes  of  inventory. 

Of  types  I  and  2,  the  minor  serials,  whose  single 
issues  do  not  each  make  a  volume,  it  has  already  been 
said  that  the  "  Library  has  "  statement  will  not  include 
anything  except  the  parts  that  have  been  put  in  perma- 
nent collected  form.-*  One  exception,  however,  is  noted 
beyond.  During  the  often  long  period  in  which  the 
material  exists  in  uncollected  shape,  the  check  record  of 
receipt  will  be  the  only  record  in  the  library  of  these  sep- 

24  See  p.  ioo. 


222  Cataloging 

arate  issues.  As  soon  as  the  first  issue  of  a  bulletin  or 
circular  series,  or  of  a  periodical  which  gives  promise  of 
permanence,  is  received,  a  catalog  entry  will  be  made  for 
it,  which  will  include  government  author,  title,  place  of 
publication,  frequency,  and  call  number.  But  instead  of 
a  statement  of  what  the  library  has,  a  note  will  read: 
"See  shelves  (or  periodical  room).  Also,  for  statement 
of  what  the  library  has,  see  serial  record  at  librarian's  desk 
(or  elsewhere).''  The  issues  themselves  can  be  kept 
on  the  library  shelves  according  to  the  call  number,  un- 
less kept  among  the  periodicals.  As  soon  as  collected 
volumes  of  the  serial  come  along  so  that  the  catalog 
can  give  the  "  Library  has  "  statement  instead  of  the 
entry  just  described,  in  case  of  types  i  and  2  there  will  be 
added  to  the  "  Library  has  "  or  the  "  To  date  "  entry  a 
note  reading :  "  For  later  issues  see  serial  record  at  li- 
brarian's desk." 

Bulletin  series 
The  aforesaid  method,  as  it  involves  keeping  all  issues 
together  in  one  place,  may  be  challenged  for  type  2. 
There  is  always  the  temptation  to  seize  upon  one  bulle- 
tin of  extra  size  or  especially  timely  subject,  and  classify 
and  catalog  it  separately;  other  issues,  meanwhile,  be- 
ing cast  away  or  thrown  among  the  miscellaneous 
pamphlets.  It  is  a  help  to  the  reference  work  to  keep 
in  its  subject  place  on  the  shelves  a  single  bulletin  sup- 
plying timely  information.  But  as  the  successive  issues 
continue  to  come,  in  the  end  it  will  be  found  that  it 
makes  for  economy  and  order  to  keep  all  of  each 
bulletin  together,  and  in  numbered  order,  making  into 
volumes  as  enough  come  —  rather  than  to  scatter  them, 
or  even  to  group  and  bind  by  subject.  The  key  to  using 
them  then  will  be  the  catalog  entry,  which  may  be  made, 
if  thought  best,  of  course  for  the  series  as  a  whole,  but, 
in  addition,  for  only  the  more  important  of  the  separate 
issues.  This  catalog  entry  can  be  depended  on  to  take 
the  place  of  a  subject  classification  for  each  individually. 


Cataloging  223 

Temporary  withdrawal  of  any  publication  from  the  lo- 
cation to  which  assigned  by  the  classed  system  of  the 
library,  substituting  a  dummy,  and  placing  the  work  at 
hand  or  in  a  special  temporary  collection  for  reference 
use,  can  and  should  be  done  constantly  and  freely. 

Small  annuals 

Exception  to  the  exclusion  from  catalog  entry  of  any- 
thing not  in  permanent  collected  form  will  perhaps  have 
to  be  made  in  case  of  type  (3),  annual  reports  which, 
like  the  report  of  the  Assay  Commission,  of  the  Yosemite 
National  Park,  etc.,  are  of  only  a  few  pages  each.  To 
wait  ten  years  for  a  file  of  one  of  these  to  accumulate 
sufficient  to  make  a  volume  before  the  catalog  records 
them  would  be  a  reductio  ad  ahsurdiim  of  our  rule,  and 
each  should  be  cataloged  as  received,  but  may  or  may 
not  wait  till  bound  to  be  accessioned. 

Frequent  editions 

Quite  a  number  of  government  publications,  not  real 
serials,  come  out  periodically  or  irregularly  in  new  edi- 
tions, in  course  of  time  accumulating  to  a  goodly  num- 
ber. Examples  are  the  Congressional  Directory,  two  or 
three  editions  to  a  session ;  and  the  semi-annual  manual 
of  civil  service  examinations.  Instead  of  entering  each 
as  a  separate  edition,  to  catalog  as  a  serial'  saves  space 
and  labor,  and  gives  a  compact,  clearer  statement.  Not 
all  such  publications  need  to  be  in  the  check  record. 

Changes  of  title  or  of  publishing  body 

A  difficulty  always  in  cataloging  serials  is  change  of 
title ;  and  in  the  case  of  a  government  serial  a  change 
of  the  bureau  publishing  it  may  also  occur.  The 
Monthly  Consular  Reports,  for  instance,  now  superseded 
by  the  Commerce  Reports,  since  beginning  publication 
in  1880  have  seen  two  slight  changes  in  title  and  have 
been  issued  successively  from  three  bureaus.  The  Con- 
tributions from  the  United  States  National  Herbarium 


224  Cataloging 

began  publication  under  the  Botany  Division  of  the 
Agriculture  Department ;  but  is  now  prepared  by  the 
National  Museum.  It  is  good  usage  to  enter  under  the 
current  or  latest  government  author  and  title,  unless,  in 
a  non-current  serial,  another  form  not  the  latest  has  in- 
disputable cjaim  to  preference.  The  Checklist  will  give 
the  facts  —  at  least  to  1909  —  and  references,  to  the  en- 
try chosen,  from  all  variations  of  title  and  all  successive 
publishing  ottices  (or  entries  under  them),  with  clear 
notes,  must  be  made.  Care  has  to  be  taken  sometimes 
that  a  reference  made  shall  connect  with  something 
given  in  the  entry  to  which  it  is  made.  For  instance,  if 
reference  is  made  from  Xelson  W.  Aldrich  to  "  U.  S. 
Congress.  Senate.  Finance  Committee,"  -^  for  his  re- 
port on  wholesale  prices,  wages,  and  transportation,  his 
name  must  be  included,  in  either  title  or  note,  as  part  of 
the  entry  referred  to. 

4.  Printed  catalog  cards:  periodical  indexes 
The  librarian  has  already  been  advised,-*'  instead  of 
multiplying  tables  of  contents  and  analytical  work,  to 
make  his  catalog  refer  to  an  auxiliary  light  squadron  of 
printed  lists  and  indexes  kept  conveniently  at  hand. 
Xow,  in  addition,  it  is  recommended  that  he  use,  so  far 
as  he  can  afford  them,  the  various  issues  of  printed 
catalog  cards  for  United  States  publications  and  their 
parts,  which  are  on  sale.  From  January.  1904,  to  De- 
cember, 1905,  the  Documents  Office  sent  free  to  deposi- 
tories printed  catalog  cards  for  current  publications, 
which  were  duplicates  of  the  entries  in  the  Document 
Catalog.  But  these  are  now  discontinued.  Among  the 
cards  sold  by  the  Library  of  Congress  are  entries  for 
all  important  current  national  publications  and  many 
earlier  ones,  together  with  analytical  entries  for  many 
government  serials.-'     The  Geological  Survey,  the  Edu- 

25    U.   S.  5-d  Congress,  ;d  session.     Senate  Report  1394;  In  v.  3.     3074. 
-6  See  p.   214. 

27  See  Librar>'  of  Congrress.  Card  Section,  Bulletin  16-19   (in  one),   1914' 
List  of  series  of  publications  for  which  cards  are  in  stock. 


Cataloging  225 

cation  Bureau,  the  Agriculture  Department,  and,  it  is 
likely,  other  government  bodies,  have  published  on  cards 
complete  catalogs,  including  analyticals,  of  all  their  pub- 
lications, kept  up  to  date.  That  of  the  Agriculture  De- 
partment is  sent  free  to  United  States  agricultural  col- 
leges. As  has  been  said,  its  government  author  entries 
are  made  on  a  different  system  from  those  of  the  Li- 
brary of  Congress. 

Poole's  Index  and  other  indexes  to  periodicals  and  col- 
lections include  entries  for  separate  issues  or  separate 
articles  of  many  government  serials.  Entries  in  the 
catalog  for  such  serials  should  bear  the  note,  e.g.,  "  In- 
dexed in  the  A.  L.  A.  Index  " ;  and  sometimes  the  exact 
years  indexed  must  be  specified. 

Xot  every  consecutive  series  numbering  seen  on 
United  States  government  publications  merits  the  dig- 
nity of  an  entry  in  the  catalog.  "  Treasury  Depart- 
ment Document  "  ;  "  War  Department  Document  "  : 
"  Education  Bureau  Bulletin  whole  number,"  are  ex- 
amples of  some  that  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  the  rec- 
ords of  the  publishing  office,  and  may  be  included  as  part 
of  the  title  in  cataloging  the  work.  But  as  these  sets  of 
numbers  may  include  office  blanks  and  memoranda,  or 
confidential  publications,  it  is  wise  not  to  try  to  check  up 
the  numbers  with  a  view  to  getting  a  complete  file,  and 
not  to  make  a  series  entry  for  them  in  the  catalog. 

5.  Library  of  Congress  and  Document  Catalog 
divergences 
The  Document  Catalog,  begun  in  1895,  some  years 
before  the  Library  of  Congress  began  its  present  cata- 
log and  the  sale  of  its  printed  cards,  catalogs  United 
States  government  publications  exclusively.  It  there- 
fore lacks  the  complications  and  problems  that  would 
arise  did  it  include  publications  not  only  of  the  na- 
tional government,  but  also  of  state  and  foreign  gov- 
ernments, besides  a  vastly  greater  number  not  of  gov- 
ernment origin  at  all.     The  Library  of  Congress  has  the 


226  Cataloging 

requirements  of  all  these  to  consult  in  devising  its  li- 
brary system,  including  its  cataloging  rules.  In  the  lat- 
ter library,  technicalities  mvolving  the  relations  of  each 
part  to  the  whole  of  the  work,  of  each  entry  to  all  the 
others  in  the  catalog,  arise  on  every  side.  The  Docu- 
ment Catalog,  on  the  other  hand,  is  untrammeled  by 
considerations  such  as  these,  can  be  simple,  can  make 
concessions  to  its  special  purpose  and  clientele,  etc.,  im- 
possible to  the  Library  of  Congress. 

The  divergence  between  these  two  catalogs  which  is 
the  most  noticeable  and  affects  the  greatest  number  of 
entries,  and  has  been  the  most  widely  discussed,  is  the 
inverted  as  against  the  direct  form  of  names  of  gov- 
ernment bodies.  In  common  parlance,  some  of  the  gov- 
ernment authors  are  always  named  with  the  distinctive 
word  first,  as  Post-Office  Department,  War  Department, 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  Others  place  the 
distinctive  word  after  the  non-distinctive  word,  e.g.,  de- 
partment, bureau,  commission ;  and  in  some  cases  sev- 
eral insignificant  parts  of  speech  intervene  before  the 
distinctive  word  is  arrived  at.  e.g.,  Department  of  the 
Interior,  Bureau  of  the  Census.  Commission  to  Investi- 
gate the  Title  of  the  United  States  to  Lands  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  etc.  In  catalog  entries  the  correct 
name  of  a  government  body  must  be  sought,  of  course, 
in  the  law  creating  it,  just  as  the  name  of  an  incor- 
porated body  is  in  its  act  of  incorporation,  and  of  a  non- 
incorporated  society  is  in  its  constitution.  But  the  law 
frequently  gives  no  definite  name,  or  speaks  of  the  body 
in  two  or  three  different  wordings.-® 

On  this  account  the  Documents  Office  thinks  itself 
justified  in  its  practice  of  invariably,  in  its  entry  of  each 
government  author,  putting  the  distinctive  word  first, 
as  Education  Bureau,  instead  of  Bureau  of  Education. 
This  creates,  its  critics  say,  in  many  instances,  an  in- 
verted form  of  the  name,  and  one  not  authorized  by  the 
statute   creating   the   body.     The    Library   of    Congress 

28  See  statement  of  this  by  F.  A.  Crandall,  Library  Journal,  28:  69,  1903- 


Cataloging  227 

uses  the  direct  form  as  the  statute  gives  it,  not  changing, 
to  be  sure,  Post-Office  Department,  but  using  Bureau 
of  Education,  Department  of  the  Interior,  etc. 

This  divergence,  be  it  noted,  is  one  of  form  only,  not 
of  principle.  Its  only  result  is  a  rearrangement  of 
alphabetical  sequence  of  one  catalog  as  compared  with 
the  other ;  a  highly  practical  result,  it  is  true,  as  the  only 
key  to  unlocking  the  resources  of  the  library  through 
the  dictionary  catalog  is  its  alphabetical  arrangement. 

In  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  inverted  versus  direct 
form  at  an  A.  L.  A.  meeting,-"  of  a  number  of  argu- 
ments advanced,  two  seem  to  be  decisive  ones.  Ad- 
vocates of  the  inverted  form  urged  the  inestimably 
great  convenience  to  the  reader  to  be  able  to  find  a  gov- 
ernment author  by  means  of  the  one  word  in  its  title 
that  sticks  in  the  memory,  as  Interior,  Agriculture,  Cen- 
sus, etc.  The  Library  of  Congress  urged  per  contra 
that  the  names  of  government  authors  in  foreign  lan- 
guages could  not  be  inverted,  and  it  would  be  of  no 
help  to  the  reader  if  they  were.  The  use  of  inverted 
form  in  English  only,  and  direct  form  for  all  in  for- 
eign languages,  the  Library  of  Congress  was  not  will- 
ing to  accept. 

The  Library  of  Congress  printed  cards,  therefore, 
read  thus :  "  U.  S.  Department  of  the  Interior  "  ;  "  U. 
S.  Bureau  of  the  Census."  ^"  If  any  library  adopts  this 
direct  form  for  its  catalog  and  uses  it  without  change, 
there  should  be  made  in  every  instance  a  reference  to  it 
from  the  inverted  or  Document  Catalog  form.  The  cards 
of  the  Library  of  Congress  bearing  direct  form  headings 
may  have  the  distinctive  word  underlined  and  then  they 
may  be  alphabetized  by  it,  producing  inverted  arrange- 

29  See  Proceedings  of  the  Catalog  Section  of  the  American  Library  Asso- 
ciation, Niagara  Falls  meeting,  1903,  in  Library  Journal,  28:  C:76-Ci89. 
As  the  writer  is  reviewing  her  own  decisions  as  compiler  of  the  first  two 
Document  Catalogs  under  Mr.  Crandall,  she  can  not  be  accused  of  being 
biased  against  or  unappreciative  of  the  advantages  of  the  inverted  form  of 
name. 

30  Notice  that  both  examples  of  direct  headings  given,  alphabet  (after 
"  of  ")  under  "  the."  while  "  Department  of  Agriculture  "  follows  "  of  "  by 
the  distinctive  word. 


228  Cataloging 

ment.  A  guide  card  with  note  of  explanation  must  pre- 
cede. This  has  its  risks  of  confusing  readers,  especially 
in  the  sub-alphabeting  under  the  subject  according  to  the 
underlined  word  of  the  government  author. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  the  same  body  be  not  allowed 
to  appear  in  two  different  places  in  the  catalog,  under  the 
direct  form  and  again  under  the  inverted  form  of  name. 

Another  point  of  difference  between  these  two  cata- 
logs is  that  the  Document  Catalog  makes  entry  direct 
under  each  body,  no  matter  what  its  grade,  extending 
this  to  the  two  houses  of  Congress.  The  Library  of 
Congress,  on  the  contrary,  enters  every  body  below  the 
grade  of  a  bureau  as  a  subhead  of  its  higher  body. 
Thus  we  have :  — 

Document  Catalog  Library  of  Congress 

U.  S.  Publications  Division  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Commerce,  Pub- 

( Commerce  Dept.).  lications  Division. 

U.S.  Senate  (Congress).  U.S.  Congress.     Senate. 

U.  S.  House  of  Representatives  U.  S.  Congress.    House. 

(Congress). 

U.  S.  Finance  Committee  (Sen-  U.  S.  Congress.    Senate.     Com- 

ate,  Congress).  mittee  on  Finance. 

These  are  the  noteworthy  divergences  as  to  govern- 
ment authors.  The  subject  headings  of  the  Document 
Catalog  are  being  gradually  brought  into  uniformity 
with  those  used  by  the  Library  of  Congress. 

The  very  great  difference  between  the  Document 
Catalog  and  the  Library  of  Congress  in  their  method  of 
making  up  the  titles  to  Reports  of  committees  of  Con- 
gress, has  already  been  fully  described.^^ 

It  has  already  been  explained  ^-  how  it  happens  that  on 
the  cards  sold  by  the  Library  of  Congress  headings  are 
found  that  are  contrary  to  that  library's  own  rules;  such 
as  follows :  "  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  Bu- 
reau of  Plant  Industry."     It  may  be  of  interest  to  de- 

31  See  Legislative  Publications:  VI.   Reports  of  Committees,  p.   140;  also 
Library  Practice:  IV.   Cataloging:    i,  pp.  207,  209. 

32  See  Library  Practice:   IV.  Cataloging:  2,  p.  216. 


Cataloging  229 

scribe  here  the  most  numerous  of  these  divergent  head- 
ings—  those  m.ade  up  in  the  hbrary  of  the  Agricuhure 
Department,  and  used  in  that  hbrary's  own  card  catalog. 
The  Agriculture  Department  library  rule  is  to  make  ev- 
ery government  body  below  the  highest  grade  a  sub- 
head under  the  higher  body  or  bodies  to  which  it  is  at- 
tached. It  uses  the  direct  form  of  name.  Anything  of 
division  or  section  grade  would  be  entered  like  the  fol- 
lowing example :  "  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 
Weather  Bureau.     Library." 


V 

Pamphlets 

There  will  be  among  the  material  received  by  deposi- 
tory libraries  many  pieces  not  linked  with  others  by  a 
series  title,  and  not  even  issued  periodically  in  revised 
editions ;  but  single,  detached  publications,  paper  bound, 
and  on  some  minor  or  very  specific  topic.  These  are 
the  pamphlets.  Examples  are  the  publications  of  the 
Interior  Department  descriptive  of  various  national 
parks ;  of  the  Indian  Affairs  Office  outlining  work  for 
the  Indian  schools ;  ^^  occasional  "  separates  "  that  one 
may  want  to  keep,  etc.  Not  every  paper  bound  publica- 
tion is  a  pamphlet.  When  such  a  publication  is  important 
enough  to  catalog  and  classify  it  should  be  regarded  and 
treated  as  an  unbound  book.  The  following  is  a  defi- 
nition of  a  pamphlet  which  will  serve  the  purpose  here. 
A  pamphlet  is  a  small  separate  publication,  usually  (but 
not  necessarily)  paper  bound,  which  —  partly  because 
small  and  in  paper  covers,  but  still  more  because  its  sub- 
ject matter  is  ephemeral,  minor,  or  on  minutiae  —  it 
is  not  deemed  advisable  or  necessary  to  make  pass 
through  all  the  processes  given  to  a  book.  Thus  the 
border  line  between  book  and  pamphlet  is  seen  to  be  as 
imaginary  as  the  equator.  And  a  referendum  vote  of 
readers  insistently  calling  for  something  originally  rele- 
gated to  this  lower  class  occasionally  brings  a  quasi 
pamphlet  up  into  the  treatment  of  the  book  class ;  while 
if  the  recall  could  be  used  over  many  a  so-called  book, 
much  dead  timber  on  which  labor  has  been  wasted 
might  be  dumped  back  among  the  pamphlets. 

A   good    system    with    pamphlets    is    the    following.^* 

33  See  Checklist,  p.  497-498. 

34  These  directions  are  largely  copied,  with  slight  variations  drawn  from 
the  writer's  own  experience,  from  a  very  practical  article  by  Zaidee  Brown 

230 


Pamphlets  231 

Classify  each  as  it  comes,  writing  the  class  number  on 
its  upper  left  corner.  Then  put  in  manila  envelop  or 
pamphlet  box,  also  marked  with  the  class  number,  and 
file  on  the  shelves  after  the  books  of  that  class.  The 
box  or  envelop  for  economy  may  have  on  it  several  con- 
secutive class  numbers  to  hold  a  bunch  of  pamphlets, 
even  if  their  classes  differ  slightly.  To  be  useful  the 
classification  should  be  close ;  a  pamphlet  on  a  special 
breed  of  the  domestic  hen  should  be  numbered,  e.g.,  by 
the  Decimal  classification,  not  630,  nor  636,  but  636.5, 
the  proper  subdivision.  Number  each  consecutive 
pamphlet  of  a  class  as  it  comes,  i,  2,  3,  etc.,  and  write 

636.5 


this   on   it   under  the   class   number,   e.^r.,    ,  ^^ 

'      ^      '  Pam.  I 

On  the  outside  of  the  box  or  envelop  write  a  numbered 

list  of   the  pamphlets  within,  giving  author,  brief  title, 

and    date    of    each.     Subject   entry    or   entries   will   be 

made  in  the  catalog,  the  card  reading  something  like  this : 


639     Poultry. 


See  also  on  shelves  the  parrvphlets  on  poultry,  at 
the  end  of  the  books  on  the  subject. 


These  subject  entries  made  for  the  pamphlets  will  be 
traced  inconspicuously  on  each  envelop  or  box.  The 
card  will  be  filed  at  the  end  of  the  entries  on  the  sub- 
ject. On  the  shelf  list  also  there  will  be,  at  the  end  of 
the  books  of  the  class,  the  entry,  e.g..  Pamphlets  i-io. 
When  enough  pamphlets  on  a  subject  have  accumu- 
lated to  bind,  this  should  be  done,  and  each  can  then  be 
cataloged,  or  the  same  method  of  referring  to  them, 
under  subject  only,  be  continued.  But  in  the  mean- 
time, some  pamphlets  will  have  been  superseded  by 
fuller  information  in  book  form  or  will  have  become 
obsolete.  To  discard  such  will  be  easy,  no  separate  rec- 
ord for  any  one  having  been  made  except  that  on  the 
box  or  envelop. 

in   Library   Journal,    32:358-360,   Aug.,    1907,   which   the   reader   is   recom- 
mended to  read. 


yi 

Maps 

A  map  separately  published  should  be  treated  like  a 
book.^^  It  may  be  classified  according  to  its  locality,  or 
in  a  class  designating  a  collection  of  maps,  number  912 
in  the  Decimal  classification. 

The  Library  of  Congress,  according  to  whose  printed 
model  cards  library  cataloging  is  becoming  standard- 
ized all  over  the  United  States,  has  as  yet  issued  no  cards 
for  maps.  The  rules  it  follows  have,  however,  been 
published.^"  The  quotations  are  from  this  guide. 
"  The  cataloging  of  maps  and  atlases  differs  very  little 
from  the  cataloging  of  ordinary  books."  Briefly,  the 
catalog  entry  of  a  map  dift'ers  from  that  of  a  book  in 
two  points: —  (i)  the  scale  must  be  added;  and  (2)  the 
actual  measurement,  in  two  dimensions,  must  be  given, 
from  top  to  bottom  always  first.  "  The  general  items 
contained  on  these  [catalog]  cards  are,  for  sheet  maps, 
(a)  author,  with  full  name,  (b)  title  of  map,  (c)  scale, 
(d)  edition,  (e)  measurement  in  inches  within  the  bor- 
ders of  the  map  from  top  to  bottom  and  from  side  to 
side  (the  top  of  the  map  is  determined  by  placing  the 
map  in  proper  position  to  read  the  title  as  printed),  (f) 

35  Documents  Office,  Price  list  53:  Maps,  is  a  very  complete  and  full 
bibliography  of  everything  the  United  States  is  doing  or  has  done  in  the 
line  of  map  publishing.  It  is  recommended  that  libraries,  even  small  libra- 
ries, get  and  use  the  following: — the  large  wall  map  of  the  United  States 
published  by  the  General  Land  Office  (ask  from  your  senator  or  representa- 
tive); the  topographic  sheets  for  your  state  or  your  section  published  by 
the  Geological  Survey  (ask  from  the  Survey)  ;  and  the  postal  rural  delivery 
map  of  your  county  (ask  from  Third  Assistant  Postmaster  General,  Finance 
Division,   Post-Office  Department). 

36  U.  S.  Library  of  Congress.  Notes  on  the  cataloging,  care,  and  classi- 
fication of  maps  and  atlases  ...  by  P.  Lee  Phillips.  1915-  20  P-  lar. 
i6mo.  See  also  Library  Journal,  25:  15-16,  Jan.,  1900.  Also  U.  S.  Library 
of  Congress.  Report  .  ,  year  ending  June  30,  1901,  pt.  II  (Manual  .  .  .), 
p.  263-266,  344-350. 

232 


Maps  233 

place  of  publication,  (g)  publisher,  (h)  date  of  publi- 
cation," Note  that  "  within  the  borders  "  means  exclu- 
sive of  margin.  The  author  of  a  government  map  will 
be  the  publishing  office.^' 

If  there  is  any  text  printed  on  margin,  back,  or  else- 
where, this  must  be  properly  described  in  a  note.  If  a 
map  is  in  more  than  one  sheet  or  section,  it  is  still  one 
map,  but  the  fact  should  be  stated  in  a  note;  the  same 
if  backed,  or  on  rollers,  or  folded  into  covers  or  a  port- 
folio. In  the  last  case,  the  dimensions  of  both  map  and 
covers  should  be  given:  e.g.,  35x25  cm.  folded  into 
covers  15  x  10  cm.  Maps  inset  on  larger  maps  should 
be  mentioned  in  a  note  and  receive  any  separate  entry, 
subject  or  other,  that  they  may  be  deemed  worth. 

A  necessary  equipment  to  be  provided  in  building  a 
library  which  it  seems  to  the  writer  is  not  so  generally 
emphasized  and  provided  as  it  should  be,  is  map  draw- 
ers built  in,  or  a  map  room.  Failing  this,  as  a  make- 
shift maps  may  be  kept  inside  pasteboard  rolls  such  as 
are  used  for  mailing  certificates,  broadsides,  or  paper 
sheets  of  any  kind.  Some  other  ways  of  disposing  of 
maps  are  the  following :  —  they  may  be  laid  in  drawers 
or  on  shelves ;  put  in  large  manila  envelops  specially 
made ;  bound  after  mounting  on  guards ;  backed  and 
attached  to  rollers  for  hanging;  or  framed  under  glass 
in  wall  cases  or  wing  frames  for  exhibit.  If  too  large, 
maps  may  be  cut  into  sections,  but  they  should  always 
lie  flat  or  be  rolled,  never  be  folded,  as  they  will  wear 
out  and  the  text  become  obliterated  in  the  folds.  As 
they  are  liable  to  be  scattered  in  the  library,  wherever 
a  place  can  be  found  for  them,  it  is  well  to  state  location 
on  the  shelf  list  in  a  pencil  note. 

An  oversize  atlas  accompanying  a  work  will  have  to 
be  shelved  apart  from  it.  Accession  and  call  number 
should  be  plainly  marked  on   it.   and   its   location  pen- 

37  The  man  who  makes  the  survey  for  and  draws  the  map  is  really  the 
author,  but,  as  is  explained  in  General:  Why  Bewildering:  topic  3,  the 
author  in  government  publications  merges  his  identity  in  the  government 
body  whose  work  he  is  carrying  on. 


234  M^ps 

ciled  on  the  shelf  Hst  and,  if  desired,  on  the  catalog 
card.  Of  a  set  of  loose  maps  or  plates  of  any  kind  ac- 
companying a  work  each  should  be  stamped  with  the 
library  stamp,  the  accession  number  put  on  the  con- 
tainer, and  the  call  number  written  on  each  map,  also 
the  title  of  the  work,  if  it  is  not  printed  on  it.  Then 
none  can  be  lost.  These  items  should  be  put  near  the 
title  on  the  map,  so  that  one  may  quickly  find  them,  and 
not  have  to  search  all  over  a  big  map  surface  to  make 
sure  no  memorandum  recorded  there  is  lost. 


VII 

Classification 

If,  as  is  the  principle  of  this  work,  a  government  pub- 
lication is  not  to  be  discriminated  against  because  of  its 
origin,  but  is  to  be  given  equal  chance  with  any  other 
kind  of  literature  for  making  itself  known  and  for 
demonstrating  either  its  capacity  for  usefulness,  or  the 
lack  of  it  —  then  each  must  be  classified  according  to 
the  system  used  for  other  books.  If  this  is  carried  out, 
the  four  series  of  House  and  Senate,  with  the  Congres- 
sional Record,  will  find  their  place  in  that  section  of  the 
classification  reserved  for  the  "  Proceedings  of  legisla- 
tive bodies  "  {i28.y^  according  to  the  Decimal  system).^^ 
Laws  will  be  classed  with  other  laws ;  treaties  with  in- 
ternational law ;  Presidents'  messages,  like  those  of 
governors  and  mayors,  in  the  class  number  for  adminis- 
tration, national,  state,  or  municipal,  as  fits  the  case. 
Hearings  of  committees,  reports  of  special  committees  or 
commissions,  and  any  other  publications  emanating  from 
Congress,  but  which  have  escaped  being  clamped  down 
by  note  and  numbering  of  the  Congressional  series,  will 
be  put  where  their  subject  entitles  them  to  be  placed. 
The  reports,  bulletins,  and  miscellaneous  works  of  each 
executive  or  judicial  body  will  find  each  its  subject 
place.  So  that  a  work  on  cooking  will  be  classed  in 
that  branch  of  domestic  science,  regardless  of  whether 
it  comes  from  the  Quartermaster  General  of  the  Army, 
or  from  the  Indian  Aft'airs  Office  for  the  use  of  Indian 
schools. 

38  If  the  Congressional  set  were  to  be  reconstituted  on  the  basis  of  the 
early  days  before  attempts  at  reform,  and  were  to  be  made  up  and  sent 
out  with  the  intent  of  its  being  a  systematically  inclusive  and  complete  col- 
lected edition  of  all  important  national  publications  from  every  branch  of 
the  government,  a  better  class  number  according  to  the  Decimal  system 
would  be,  It  seems  to  the  writer,  353.  or  353o8. 

235 


236  Classification 

Classing  of  the  Congressional  set  in  the  class,  "  Pro- 
ceedings of  legislative  bodies,"  does  not,  be  it  noted,  pre- 
clude the  removal  of  this  bulky  set  from  among  the 
other  works  of  that  class  and  their  place  in  the  main 
used  part  of  the  library  to  less  used  shelves  on  a  higher 
or  lower  floor,  leaving  a  shelf  dummy  to  tell  the  tale. 
This  can  always  be  done  with  any  little  used  group  out 
of  a  class,  like  an  accumulation  of  old  school  and  college 
catalogs  from  class  Education,  etc. 

The  foregoing  recommendations  for  subject  placing 
are  from  the  standpoint  of  the  supply,  as  at  present,  to 
depository  libraries  of  the  majority  of  the  department 
publications  in  plain  title  edition.  Subject  classifica- 
tion has  already  been  discussed  at  considerable  length ;  ^'•' 
and  the  reader  is  asked  to  read  the  discussion  again  in 
this  connection.  But  because  of  its  practical  impor- 
tance, attention  may  again  be  called  to  the  fact  that  even 
now  many  works  are  still  being  sent  to  libraries  as 
House  or  Senate  Documents  that  are  needed  on  the  li- 
brary shelves  among  the  other  works  of  like  subject. 
And  recommendation  is  again  made  not  to  let  the  fact 
that  a  work  is  a  House  or  Senate  Document  have  the 
slightest  weight  against  its  being  placed  on  the  library 
shelves  wherever  it  will  be  most  used.  This  advice  is 
specially  commended  to  non-depository  libraries.  An, 
increasing  number  of  large  libraries  w^ith  trained  man- 
agement is  in  practice  ignoring  the  House  or  Senate  Doc- 
uments series  note  and  ntfmber  in  the  treatment  of  gov- 
ernment publications,  and  treating  each  work  on  its 
merits  like  a  non-government  printed  work.  They  re- 
gard as  a  fetish  the  effort  to  keep  the  four  series  of 
Congress  intact,  and  make  inroads  upon  the  complete- 
ness of  the  set  continually  and  with  no  compunctions. 

The  other  extreme  —  that  of  rigidly  keeping  together 
everything  to  which  a  serial  number  has  been  assigned 
— ,  as  explained  in  the  previous  discussion,  puts  a  heavy 
handicap  on  the  use  of  the  works.     The  serial  numbers 

39  See  Why  Bewildering:  topic  6,  p.  8:1-83. 


Classification  237 

will  show  gaps  where  certain  publications  not  sent  to 
libraries  should  be.  The  arrangement  will  reflect  every 
inconsistency  and  change  in  the  laws  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  put  a  serial  number  on  the  issues  of  a  continued 
work  during  certain  years  and  withdraw  it  other  years. 
Should  the  efforts  succeed  that  are  now  being  made,  to 
check  waste  by  refusing  to  libraries  duplicates  wanted 
only  to  keep  the  rows  of  serially  numbered  vol- 
umes unbroken,  these  libraries  may  in  the  end  find  them- 
selves obliged,  when  a  second  copy  is  wanted,  to  show 
that  the  applicant  knows  what  the  work  is  and  to  prove 
that  the  use  justifies  giving  a  second  copy.  A  policy 
directed  toward  bringing  about  such  management  of  the 
public  printing  as  will  secure  printing  just  the  number  of 
extra  copies  needed  for  those  that  need  them,  is  better 
than  the  fostering  of  wasteful  duplication  methods  that 
produce  duplicates  of  twenty  works  not  used  or  wanted 
to  one  that  is:  Taking  the  stand :  get  everything  lest 
you  lack  something  —  leads  to  abuses  that  are  likely  to 
defeat  the  purpose  sought.  And  arranging  by  the  se- 
rial numbers  will  ultimately  break  down,  as  better  pub- 
lishing methods  are  applied  to  the  national  publications. 

The  Checklist  classification 

Another  alternative,  besides  placing  according  to  se- 
rial number  or  placing  according  to  the  subject  of  the 
work,  is  the  classifying  according  to  the  system  used 
in  the  library  of  the  Documents  Office.  This  is  given 
in  the  Checklist,  and  in  the  invoices  sent  with  the  publi- 
cations to  the  depository  libraries. 

The  usefulness  of  the  Checklist  classification  for  the 
Documents  library,  which  is  composed  of  United  States 
government  publications  exclusively,  and  used  only  by 
the  office  staff,  is  indisputable.  Indeed,  the  whole 
work  of  the  office  is  now  organized  upon  this  classifica- 
tion. It  was  originated  by  Miss  A.  R.  Hasse  first  for  the 
publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  has 
been  expanded  by  the  experts  of  the  Documents  Office  so 


238  Classification 

that  now  it  provides  a  place  for  every  publication  of 
the  United  States  government,  a  number  being  assigned 
to  each  new  publication  as  it  comes  out.  It  is  not  a 
classification  by  subject.  Its  arrangement  is  that  of  the 
United  States  government  itself.  If  a  change  occurs 
in  the  organization  of  the  government,  a  break  follows 
necessarily  on  the  shelves ;  a  new  subdivision  comes  into 
the  system,  and  sometimes  a  contmuous  series  must  be 
broken  ofi  at  one  place  on  the  shelves  and  transferred  to 
another  location.  A  file  of  bulletins  or  reports  is  split 
up  into  sections  by  the  system,  and  put  in  as  many  sepa- 
rate places  on  the  shelves  as  the  number  of  times  the 
body  publishing  it  has  changed.  By  the  Documents  Of- 
fice classification  the  set  of  Consular  Reports  is  broken 
up  into  three  sections  in  three  places.**"  The  Labor  re- 
ports, annual  and  special,  are  m  three  parts  in  three  dif- 
ferent places.*^  When,  in  1903,  the  newly  created  De- 
partment of  Commerce  and  Labor  took  over  the  Census 
Bureau,  the  Light-House  Board,"*-  the  Steamboat-Inspec- 
tion Service,  the  Navigation  Bureau,  the  Coast  and  Geo- 
detic Survey,  the  Labor  Bureau,"*^  the  Immigration  and 
Naturalization  Bureau.**  and  others,  the  set  of  reports  of 
each  of  these  bureaus  in  its  old  place  on  the  shelves  was 
broken  ofif  short  with  1902.  For  1903  and  all  later  re- 
ports one  must  go  to  another  place  quite  far  removed. 
W^ith  the  establishment  in  19 13  of  the  Labor  Department 
separate  from  the  Commerce  Department  there  were  fur- 
ther dislocations.  As  time  goes  on  the  breaks  multiply. 
The  classification  tables  were  started  with  an  alphabetical 
arrangement  of  departments  and  of  bureaus  under  them  ; 
but  as  new  bureaus  come  into  existence  the  plan  fails 
to  provide  for  their  insertion  in  alphabetical  order.  Not 
very  long  hence,  especially  if  the  multiplication  of  war 
bureaus  continues  at  the  present  rate,  the  order  of  gov- 

40  S4.7;    C14.8;    C10.6. 

41  Lai.i;  C8.1;  Li.i. 

42  Became  in  1910  the  Lighthouses  Bureau. 

43  Became  in    1913  the  Labor   Statistics  Bureau. 

44  Sejiarated   in    1913   and  became  two,   the   Immigration   Bureau   and  the 
Naturalization  Bureau. 


Classification  239 

ernment  bodies  will  be  much  more  difficult  to  follow  than 
at  present. 

Among  the  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture on  forestry  some  are  from  the  secretary's  office, 
Others  from  the  Forest  Service ;  and  material  on  the 
subject  may  l)e  published  l)y  other  bodies,  as  the  Plant 
Industry  Bureau  or  the  Geological  Survey.  But  this  clas- 
sification can  not  bring  them  together.  This  lack  of 
subject  grouping  and  dislocation  of  continued  files  do 
not  trouble  the  staff  of  the  Documents  Office.  They 
have  their  attention  claimed  by  no  other  subject  than 
the  national  publications,  and  can  know  their  collection 
from  A  to  Z. 

It  is  a  huge  saving  in  time  and  brain  work  for  a 
depository  library  to  simply  copy  upon  the  national  publi- 
cations as  they  come  to  it  the  class  numl^ers  of  the  Docu- 
ments Office  library  as  given  in  the  Checklist  and  the 
document  invoices.  It  creates  within  the  library  a  sepa- 
rate group  or  special  collection  of  the  national  publica- 
tions, which  duplicates,  so  far  as  it  goes,  the  Documents 
library  in  Washington.  Looking  at  this  fact  by  itself, 
there  come  into  question  the  effects  upon  the  everyday 
working  of  a  library  which  is  arranged  by  subject  groups, 
of  thus  harboring  another  and  very  large  group  which 
contains  material  supplementing  nearly  every  one  of  the 
library's  subject  groups,  and  not  even  in  parallel  sub- 
ject arrangement  with  that  other  material.  It  is  an 
axiom  among  librarians  that  if  a  gift  be  proffered  of  a 
collection  of  books  on  miscellaneous  subjects,  upon  con- 
dition that  the  collection  be  kept  by  itself,  that  it  be  not 
scattered  so  that  each  work  is  put  with  those  on  the  same 
subject  already  in  the  library  —  then  the  rejection  of  the 
gift  is  justifiable. 

That  the  Checklist  classification  does  not  bring  subject 
material  together  in  one  place,  e.xcept  roughly  as  a  bureau 
specializes  in  its  publications  in  a  prescribed  field,  is  a 
defect  in  it  for  general  library  use. 

The  breaking  oft'  and   separation  of   serial   sets   into 


240  Classification 

sections  would,  as  it  seems,  cause  uncertainty  in  which 
section  the  issue  for  a  certain  year  would  be  found.  If, 
for  economy  of  labor  or  temporarily  only,  the  Checklist 
classification  is  used,  it  will  be  found  fully  worth  the 
trouble  to  transfer  the  full  set  to  the  latest  class  number, 
leaving  the  earlier  class  numbers  unused,  thereby  keep- 
ing the  file  all  together. 

Finally,  this  classification  segregates  the  publications 
of  the  United  States  government  in  an  arrangement  and 
with  a  marking  exclusively  their  own.  But  it  gives  no 
analogy  by  which  those  of  state  governments  or  foreign 
governments  may  be  treated.  Shall  the  publications  of 
each  state  and  each  foreign  government  make  each  a 
separate  group  too? 


PART  V 

Bibliography 


General  Bibliography  ^ 

Popular  articles 

Spofford,  A.  R.    Government  as  a  great  publisher.    Forum,  19: 
338,  1895. 

Fine  presentation  of  the  printing  activities  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment.    Especially  good  description  of  early  exploration   publications. 

Rossiter,  W.  S.     Problem  of  the  federal  printing.    Atlantic,  96 : 
33^-334,  Sept.,  1905. 
On  cost  and  progressively  rising  expenditure. 

What  shall  we  do  with  public  documents.     Atlantic,  97 :  56a- 

565,  April,  1906. 

On  distribution  methods.     Abstract  in  Lib.  Jour.,  31:  188. 

Earle,  M.  T.    A  disinterested  publisher.    Lamp,  38   (series  2,  v. 
28)  :  461-466,  July,  1904. 

Describes  valuable  material  contained  in  government  publications 
which  the  catalogs  of  libraries  do  not  set  forth.  Summarized  in  Li- 
brary Journal,  29:  394. 

Whelpley,  J.  D.    The  nation's  print  shop  and  its  methods.     Rev. 
of  Revs.,  28:  556-563,  1903. 

Archives 

Van  Tyne,  C.  H.,  and  W.  G.  Leland.     Guide  to  the  archives  of 

the  government  of  the  United  States  in  Washington.    2d 

ed.     1907.     (Carnegie  Institution.     Publication  14.) 

Does  not  deal  with  material   in  print  and  so  not  helpfui   here.     In 

connection  with  description  of  archives  of  each  government  body  gives 

sketch  of  its  duties  and  work. 

Hasse,  A.  R.    The  nation's  records.     Forum,  25 :  598-602,   1898. 

Comparison  of  treatment  of  archives  in  U.  S.  and  foreign  countries. 
Not  helpful  as  to  material  in  print. 

Aids  as  to  publishing  bodies 
U.  S.  Documents  Office.    Author  headings  for  United  States  pub- 

1  It  is  understood  that  place  of  publication  is  Washington,  usually  at  the 
Government  Printing  Office,  and  size  is  octavo,  unless  otherwise  stated. 
The  variety  of  size  notation  in  this  bibliography  could  not  be  avoided  with 
the  conditions  under  which  the  work  was  done. 

The  scope  of  this  work  does  not  admit  of  including  bibliographies  on  mis- 
cellaneous subjects  contained  in  the  United  States  government  publications, 
though  this  is  a  fertile  field  that  would  yield  a  rich  harvest  and  is  calling 
for  a  husbandman. 

243 


244  General  Bibliography 

lie  documents  [as  used  in  the  official  catalogues  of  the 
superintendent  of  documents].  1903.  21  leaves.  (Bulle- 
tin 4-) 

Same.    2d   ed.    July    i,    1907.     1907.    iii   p.   32   leaves. 

(Bulletin  9.) 

Same.    3d   ed.     Mar.   4,    1915.     1915.     ii   p.   2;^   leaves. 

(Bulletin   18.) 

Each  edition  gives  bodies  in  existence  during  period  covered;  but 
only  those  which  have  published  something  during  the  time. 

Census  Bureau.     Official  register.    4°, 

Biennial.  Sometimes  called  the  Blue  Book.  Now  one  volume. 
Contents  and  table  of  departments  mainly  useful.     Use  latest  issue. 

Congress.    Official  Congressional  directory. 

Two  or  three  editions  a  session.     Use  latest  issue. 

Everhart,  E.  Handbook  of  United  States  public  documents. 
Minneapolis.  Wilson,  1910.    5  leaves,  320  p. 

Gives  useful  material,  but  now  not  up  to  present  date.  Reviewed 
by  Wyer,  Lib.  Jour.,  35:  221. 

Note. —  The  four  foregoing  and  two  following  are  sources  of  in- 
formation on  the  organization  of  the  United  States  government  into 
departments,  bureaus,  etc.  The  first  three  give  no  publications.  The 
fourth  describes  publications,  but  not  so  thoroughly  and  exactly  as  the 
Checklist.  The  second  and  third  give  personnel.  The  third  and 
fourth  give  duties  and  scope  of  each  body.  A  preliminary  consultation 
of  these  may  help  to  find  a  body  and  its  publications  in  the  Checklist. 

Haskin,  F.  J.  American  government.  Phil.  Lippincott,  1912. 
xvii,  398  p.     illus. 

Townsend,  Malcolm.  Handbook  of  United  States  political  his- 
tory.    Boston,  Lothrop,  C1910.    p.  133-148. 

U.  S.  Congress.  Senate.  Senate  manual,  containing  standing 
rules  and  orders  of  the  Senate  .  .  .  Jefiferson's  Manual,  etc. 

Both  plain  title  and  Senate  Document  editions.  Reprinted  nearly 
every  Congress  or  session.     Use  late  issue. 

House    of    Representatives.     Constitution,    Jefferson's 

Manual,  and  rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Always  a  House  Document  and  sometimes  a  plain  title  edition. 
Usually  reprinted  each  session.  Use  late  issue.  Both  the  foregoing 
are  of  frequent  help  in  using  the  United  States  government  publica- 
tions, especially  those  of  Congress. 

Aids  as  to  the  publications 

Wyer,  J.  I.  United  States  government  documents.  Albany,  1906. 
78  p.  (N.  Y.  State  Library.  Bulletin  102;  Library  School 
21.) 

Covers  the  subject  ably  and  completely  for  that  date.  Reviewed 
in  Lib.  Jour.,  31 :  233. 

— ^  United  States  government  documents  in  small  libraries.    4th 


General  Bibliography  245 

ed.  rev.     Chicago,  1914.     31  p.     igK;  cm.     (A.  L.  A.  Pub- 
lishing Board.     Library  handbook  7.) 
Gives  selected  list. 

Hasse,  A.   R.    United   States   government  publications,  pt.   1-2. 

Boston,  1902-3. 

No  more  published.     Reviewed  in  Lib.  Jour.,  27:340. 
Reeder,     C.     W.     Government    documents     in     small     libraries. 

Springfield,  O.,  1910.    9  p. 

Reprinted  from  report  of  Ohio  Board  of  Library  Commissioners  for 
year  ending  Nov.   15,  1909.     Gives  list  of  20  serial  publications. 

Wroth,  L.  C.  A  description  of  federal  public  documents.  White 
Plains,  N.  Y.,  Wilson,  1915.    22  p.  ig'/i  cm. 

Government  Printing  Office 
Kerr,    R.    W^    History   of   the   Government    Printing   Office   at 
Washington,  D.  C.,  with  brief  record  of  the  public  printing, 
1789-1881.     Lancaster,  Pa.,  1881.     196  p. 
Contains  list  of  the  most  valuable  publications. 

Pan  American  Union.     Monthly  bulletin,  Nov.,  1910,  p.  737-755, 
illus.     Where  the  Bulletin  is  printed. 
Description  of  the  Government  Printing  Office. 

Post,  W.  L.  Address  before  Association  of  American  Agricul- 
tural Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations  on  work  of  Office 
of  Superintendent  of  Documents.  (In  Experiment  Sta- 
tions Office.     Bulletin  212,  July  10,  1909,  p.  32-35.) 

Also  in  Monthly  Catalog,  Nov.,  1908,  p.   177. 

Depository  libraries 

Note. —  See  also,  beyond,   Bibliography:   IIL   Laws:   Depositories. 

U.  S.  Documents  Office.  Relation  of  the  Office  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Documents  to  the  organized  libraries  of  the 
United  States.     1907.     12  p.     (Bulletin  8.) 

Official  list  of  depository  libraries.     Corrected  to  Jan.  i, 

1909.     1909.    504  p.     p.   3-6,   history,   legislation,   etc. ;    p. 
7-564,  list  of  depositories.     (Bulletin  12.) 

Depository  libraries.     [July  15,  1913.]     4  p.     (Circular 

22,  2d  rev.  ed. ) 

About  the  same  information  as  in  Bulletin  12,  but  no  list  of  libraries. 

Documents    due    depositories.     [1907.]     39    p.     [Cover 

title  is.  Public  documents  supplied  to  designated  depository 
libraries,  1907.]      (Bulletin  7.) 

Ptiblic  printing  to  iQOj 

Ames,  J.  G.,  A.  R.  Spofford,  and  S.  F.  Baird.  Report  regarding 
the  publication  and  distribution  of  public  documents. 
1882.  66  p.  (H.  Mis.  Doc.  12,  47th  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v. 
i;  2115.) 


246  General  Bibliography 

Includes  table  showing  as  to  each  publication  of  the  46th  Congress 
and  47th  Congress,  ist  session,  the  number  printed,  cost,  quota  for 
each  member,  and  remainder;  also  compilation  of  laws  in  detail  lor 
each  government  publication;  also  proposed  bill  and  resolutions  for 
the  printing  and  distribution  of  public  documents. 

U.  S.  State  Department.  Communication  relative  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  international  bureau  of  exchanges  [ot  gov- 
ernment publications].  Apr.  14,  1882.  113  p.  (H.  Ex. 
Doc.  172,  47th  Cong.,  I  St  sess.     In  v.  22;  2030.) 

p.  S-SP.  report  of  Smithsonian  Institution  on  its  work  in  interna- 
tional exchanges  of  scientific  and  literary  productions  since  iS^io;  p. 
60-113.  List  of  official  publications  issued  by  Congress  and  the  re- 
spective executive  departments  from   1867-1881. 

Documents  Division  (Interior  Dept.").     Report  regarding  the 

receipt,  distribution,  and  sale  of  public  documents  on  behalf 
of  the  government  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  1878, 

1883-1907- 

For  full  description  see  Checklist:  459.  This  division,  of  which 
Dr.  John  G.  Ames  was  for  many  years  head  with  title  of  super- 
intendent of  documents,  was  the  distributing  agency  before  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Documents  Office  in  1S95,  It  then  limited  itself 
to  publications  of  the  Interior  Department,  and  Dr.  Ames  became 
"  clerk  in  charge  of  documents."  This  office  was  finally  abolished 
by  the  secretary  of  the  Interior,  July   i,    1907. 

— —  Congress.  Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Report  favoring 
S.1549,  providing  for  the  public  printing  and  binding  and 
distribution  of  public  documents.  Jan.  13,  1892.  483  p. 
(S.  Report  18,  52d  Cong.,  ist  sess.     In  v.  i;  2911.) 

By  Senator  Manderson.  Of  all  the  Reports,  bills,  debates,  etc.,  in 
which  were  voiced  the  long  agitation  and  discussion  whose  final  suc- 
cessful outcome  was  the  printing  law  of  Jan.  12,  1895,  this  specimen 
only  is  given. 

Contents.  —  p.  5-8.  Epitomized  history  of  the  public  printing.  — 
p.  9-258.  Hearings.  —  p.  259-384.  Answers  of  departments  to  ques- 
tions. —  p.  385-404.  List  of  public  documents  of  48th-5ist  Congresses. 
—  p.  405-427.  Number  of  copies,  cost,  and  distribution  of  Congres- 
sional Record,  47th-5ist  Congresses.  Suggestions.  —  p.  428-463.  Let- 
ter of  commissioner  of  patents  about  his  printing.  Text  of  bill 
annotated.  —  p.  464-483.  Statement  of  superintendent  of  Senate  fold- 
ing room. 

Documents  Division  (Interior  Dept").  Special  report  rela- 
tive to  public  documents ;  by  John  G.  Ames.     1894.     19  p. 

Same.     (In  Interior  Department.    Annual  report,  1894, 

V.  3) 

Complete,  clear  and  vigorous  statement  of  then  existing  condi- 
tions and  plea  for  needed  reforms.  Reviewed  in  Lib.  Jour.  20: 
26-27,    1895- 

Government  Printing  Oflfice.     Annual  report,  1862-date. 

Also  a  Congressional  Document  edition.  Includes  report  of  super- 
intendent of  documents. 


General  Bibliography  247 

Documents  Office.     Annual  report,  1895-date. 

Separate  edition,  except   1897. 

Lists 

Note. —  See  also,  beyond.  Bibliography:  General:  Publishing  bodies' 
lists  of  their  own  publications. 

Ford,   P.   L.     Some  materials   for  a  bibliography  of  the  official 
publications     of     the     Continental     Congress,     1774-1789. 
Brooklyn.  1888.     57  p. 
Reprinted  from  the  Bulletin  of  the  Boston  Public  Library. 

Friedenwald,  Herbert.  Journals  and  papers  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  (In  American  Historical  Association.  Annual 
report,  1896.  v.  i,  p.  83-135.) 

An  exhaustive  bibliography. 

Greely,  A.  W.  Public  documents  of  the  early  Congresses.  (In 
American  Historical  Association.  Annual  report,  1896,  v. 
I.  p.  1 109-1248.) 

Essay  with  bibliographical  lists  appended,  including  list  of  indexes 
of  public   documents. 

Same,  separate.     1897. 

Public  documents  of  the  first  fourteen  Congresses,  1789-1817; 

papers   relating  to  early   Congressional  documents.     1900. 

903  p.     (S.  Doc.  428,  56th  Cong.,  1st  sess.     In  v.  37;  3879.) 
Public    documents    of    the    first    fourteen    Congresses.     (In 

American    Historical    Association.     Annual    report,    1903- 

V.  I,  p.  343-406.) 

Supplements  the  preceding  list. 

Hickcox,    J.     H.     United     States    government    publications ;     a 
monthly  catalog,  1885-1894.     1885-1894.     10  v. 
Privately    published.     Stopped    when    Documents    Office    opened    in 
July.  1895,  where  Mr.  Hickcox  was  the  first  chief  of  cataloging.     See 
Checklist,  p.  x-xi. 

U.  S.  Documents  Office.  Checklist  of  United  States  public  docu- 
ments, 1789-1909.  Congressional:  to  close  of  6oth  Con- 
gress. Departmental :  to  end  of  calendar  year  1909.  3d 
ed.     V.  I,  Lists.     1911.     xxi,  1707  p. 

Quote:  "  Checklist,  3d  ed."  Reviewed  by  Wyer  in  Lib.  Jour., 
37:  630.     hor  earlier  editions  see  Checklist,  p.  415,  421-424,  460. 

American  catalogue.  1876 '84-1890  95.     N.  Y.     3  v.    4°. 

At  end  of  each  volume  are  lists  of  United  States  publications,  ar- 
ranged by  departments,  compiled  by  R.  R.  Bowker.  Lists  cover  Jan. 
I,  1881-June  20,  1895.  Checklist  and  other  later  catalogs  supersede 
these,  but  these  are  useful  if  others  are  wanting. 

N.  Y.  State  Library.     Selection  of  cataloguers'  reference  books. 
Albany,    1903.     (Bibliography    bulletin    36,)     p.    290-296: 
Documents ;  United  States. 
Selected  list. 


248  General  Bibliography 

Kroeger,  A.  B.  Guide  to  the  study  and  use  of  reference  books. 
3d  edition  revised  throughout  and  much  enlarged  by  I.  G. 
Mudge.  Chicago,  American  Library  Association  Publish- 
ing Board,  1917. 

The  second  edition    (1908)   of  this  valuable  and  authoritative  work 
has    been    continued    by   annual    supplements    in    the    Library   Journal, 
also    two    separately    published    cumulations    of    these,    covering    re- 
spectively   1909-1910   and    1911-1913.      Each,   as   well   as   the  complete 
work,    contains    a    section    giving    a    selected    list    of    United    States 
government     documents.     Many     other     United     States     government 
publications    also    are    included    in    other    sections    devoted    to    the 
special   subject   of   the   publication. 
U.  S.  Documents  Oflfice.     Tables  of  public  documents  printed  an- 
nually or  at  regular  intervals  as  provided  by  law,  showing 
extra  and  usual  number  printed  and  distribution  of  the 
same.     1901.     12  p.     (Bulletin  3.) 
Index   and   review,   all   about  government  publications,     v.    1-2, 
Mar.,  1901-Apr.,  1903.    Wash,     iqoi-1903. 

Private  publication.     No  more  publisheil. 
U.  S.  Congress.     Senate.     Finding  list  to  important  serial  docu- 
ments published  by  the  government  in  the  library  of  the 
United  States  Senate ;  prepared  by  James  M.  Baker.     1901. 
281  p.     CS.  Doc.  27,8.  56th  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  15;  4043.) 
A   list   of   this   kind   was    originally    prepared   by    T.    G.    Ames,   and 
published   in    1892.     This   is  given   because   accessible   in   the  Congres- 
sional set,  though  superseded  by  the  next  following  entry. 

Catalogue  of  the  library  of  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate.    1908.    600  p.     il.     p.  157-373:  Finding  list.. 
No   Document  edition.     The   catalog   portion  of   this   work  is   made 
as  the  average  intelligent  person  without  training  does  it. 

Catalogs  and  indexes 

Note. — See,  for  early  indexes  to  the  Congressional  set,  Checklist:— 
Yi.2:In2;  Y4.Ac2.M19;  and  for  comment,  same,  p.  viii-x.  See  also 
entries  for  these,  with  notes,  in  Wyer,  United  States  Government 
Documents.     1906,   p.   60-61.     No   entry  is  made  of  these   here. 

See  also,  beyond.  Bibliography:  General:  Publishing  bodies'  indexes 
to  their  own  publications. 

Ordway,  Albert.  General  index  of  the  Journals  of  Congress 
from  the  ist  to  the  i6th  Congress  inclusive,  being  a  synop- 
tical subject-index  of  the  proceedings  of  Congress  on  all 
public  business  from  1789  to  1821,  with  references  to  the 
debates,  documents  and  statutes  connected  therewith, 
1880-1883.  '2  V.  4°.  (H.  Report  1776,  46th  Cong.,  2d 
sess.  In  V.  6;  1939;  and  H.  Report  1559,  47th  Cong.,  1st 
sess.    In  V.  7;  2071.) 

Noted  in  Lib.  Jour.,  5:  87.     Valuable;  includes  only  public  business. 

General  personal  index  of  the  Journals  of  Congress  from  the 

1st  to  the  i6th  Congress  inclusive,  being  an  index  of  the 


General  Bibliography  249 

personal  record  of  members  of  Congress  from  1789  to  1821, 
1885-18S7.    2    V.    4°.     (H.    Report    2692,    48th    Cong.,    2d 
sess.     In  V.  4;  2331  ;  and  H.  Report  3475,  49th  Cong.,  ist 
sess.     In  V.   12;  2446.) 
"  Only  fairly  satisfactory,  and  far  from  complete." 

Church,  A.  \V.,  and  H.  H.  Smith.  Tables  showing  the  contents 
of  the  several  volumes  comprising  the  Annals  of  Congress, 
Congressional  Debates,  Congressional  Globe,  Congressional 
Record,  Statutes-at-Large,  United  States  Supreme  Court 
Reports  and  succession  of  the  Supreme  Court  justices,  ar- 
ranged by  years  and  Congresses.  1892.  29  p. 
Documents  Office  Price  List  49  duplicates  this  for  the  first  four  pub- 
lications, bringing  the  tables  down  to  date 

Poore,  B.  P.  Descriptive  catalogue  of  the  government  publica- 
tions of  the  United  States.  Sept.  5.  1774-Mar.  4,  1881. 
1885.  1392  p.  4°.  (S.  Mis.  Doc.  (i-j,  48th  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
In  v.  4;  2268.) 

Quote:  "  I'oore."  Also  a  plain  title  edition.  Reviewed  by  Bowker 
in  Lib.  Jour.,  11:4-.=;.  See  for  description  of  this  and  following  cata- 
logs Checklist:  x-xi;  also  Wyer,  United  States  Government  Docu- 
ments, p    62. 

Ames,   J.    G.     Comprehensive   index   to   the   publications   of   the 
United  States  Government,  1881-1893.     1905.    2  v.  4°.     (H. 
Doc.  754,  58th  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  1 19-120;  4745-4746.) 
Also  a  plain  title  edition.     Quote:     "Ames,   2  v.   edition."     Super- 
sedes an  earlier  edition  in  one  volume,  published  in  1894,  and  covering 
only   1889-1893. 

U.  S.  Documents  Office.  Tables  of  and  annotated  inde.x  to  the 
Congressional  series  of  United  States  public  documents 
[i5th-S2d  Congress].     1902.     769  p.  4°. 

Quote:  "Tables  and  Index."  Not  in  the  Congressional  Documents. 
Reviewed  by  Ilasse,  in  Lib.  Jour.,  27:  291-293. 

Catalogue   of  the  public   documents   of  the   53d    [-62d 

Congress],    and    of    all    departments    of   the   government. 

Mar.  4,  1893  [-June  30.  1913].     No.  i  [-11].     1896  [-1916]. 

4". 

Quote:  "Document  Catalog."  Both  plain  title  and  Congressional 
Document  editions,  v.  1-3,  a  volume  each  session;  v.  4-date,  a  volume 
each  Congress. 

Monthly    catalogue,    United    States    public    documents, 

No.    I    [-269]  ;   Jan..    1895    [-May,    1917]  ;   54th   Congress 
[-65th  Congress,  ist  sess.]. 
Quote:     "  Monthly  Catalog." 

-  Index  to  the  Reports  and  Documents  of  the  54th  Con- 
gress, 1st  session  [-63d  Congress.  3d  session]  ;  Dec.  2,  1895 
[-Mar.  4,  igiSl-     ^'o.  i  \-22\.     1895  [-1915]- 

Quote:  "  Document  Index."  Schedule  of  volumes  at  end  is  usually 
issued  ahead  of  appearance  of  index. 


250  General  Bibliography 

Price  lists.     1898-datc.    8"  and  narrow  i2mo. 

I'ree  to  everybody.  Lists  showing  wliere  material  can  be  found  in 
United  States  government  publications  have  been  issued  to  date  on 
68  subjects,  and  new  editions  with  latest  material  are  constantly  being 
printed. 

Willoiighby,  W.  F.  Statistical  publications  of  the  United  States 
government.  (In  Amer.  Acad,  of  Polit.  and  Soc.  Science. 
Annals,  v.  2,  1891-1892,  p.  92-104.) 

Critical  and  excellent  for  that  date,  though  not  entirely  compre- 
hensive. 

Lane,  L.  P.     Aids  in  the  use  of  United  States  government  publi- 
cations.    (In  Amer.  Statistical  Assoc.     Publications  7:40- 
S7:  Alar.-June,  1900. 
Gives  list  of  indexes.     Reviewed  in  Lib.  Jour.,  25:  598. 

Falkner,  R.  P.     List  of  bibliographies  published  in  official  docu- 
ments of  the  United  States,  May,  igo2.  to  Apr.,  1903,  in- 
clusive.    (In  Lib.  Jour.,  28:775-776,  1003.) 
Part  of  his  report  as  chairman  of  the  documents  committee  of  the 
A.  L.  A. 

Hasse,  A.  R.  List  of  bibliographies  contained  in  United  States 
public  documents,  June,  1903-May,  1904.  (In  Lib.  Jour., 
30:287-288,  May,  1905.) 

Part  of  her  report  as  chairman  of  the  documents  committee  of  the 
A.  L.  A. 

U.  S.  Education  Bureau.     Teaching  material  in  government  pub- 
lications.    1913.    61  p.     (Bulletin,  1913,  no.  47.) 
Valuable  aid  to  finding  reference  material. 

Government  bodies  described  by  themselves 

Note. —  The  small  publications  that  some  bodies  have  occasionally 
published,  descriptive  each  of  its  own  functions,  acomplishments,  and 
projects,  are  the  best  possible  source  of  information  about  them.  The 
list  of  such  works  given  below  makes  no  attempt  at  completeness,  even 
for  the  present  moment.  It  is  given  more  as  a  line  of  samples  of 
what  is  being  put  out,  aided  by  which  one  may  keep  daily  outlook 
for  such  publications  as  they  come  out. 

U.  S.  Chemistry  Bureau.  Organization  of  the  Chemistry  Bureau 
[with  list  of  publications  of  bureau] ;  rev.  to  July  I, 
1909.     Oct.  II,  1909.     29  p.     (Circular  14.) 

Exhibit  of  the  bureau  at  the  Pan-American  exposition, 

Bufifalo,  N.  Y.,  1901.     1901.    29  p.  4  pi.     (Bulletin  63.) 

Children's  Bureau.     Children's  Bureau,  establishment   [etc.]. 

1912.     5  p.     (Bureau  publication  i.) 

Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.    Work  of  the  survey.    2d  ed. 

1909.    47  p.  6  pi.  map. 
Printed    for    distribution    at    the    Alaska- Yukon-Pacific    Exposition, 
Seattle,  Wash.,  1909. 


General  Bibliography  251 

Commerce  Department. 

Printing  and   Publications  Division    (Commerce  Dept.). 

Condensed  history,  duties,  and  practical  operation  of 

the  Department  of  Commerce,  and  its  several  bureaus 

and  offices,  writh  laws  relating  specifically  thereto ;  July 

•     I,  1913.     1913.     211  p. 

Fisheries    Bureau.     United    States   Bureau   of   Fisheries,   its 

establishment,  functions,  organization,  resources,  oper- 
ations, and  achievements.     1908.    80  p.  il.   i  pi.  large 
8°.     ([Bureau  of  Fisheries  doc.  641.]) 
Printed    for    distribution    at    the    International    Fisheries    Congress, 
WashiHErton,  I).   C,   1908. 

Interior    Department.     General    information    regarding    the 

Department  of  the  Interior,  Dec,  1916.     1917.     24  p. 

Library   of   Congress.     Library   of   Congress  and   its   work. 

[Rev.  ed.]     1907.     21  p.  16°. 
Prepared  for  distribution  at  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Exposition,  Port- 
land, Ores;.,   1905. 

Markets  Bureau.     Work  of  the  Office  of  Markets  and  Rural 

Organization,  with  list  of  publications.     Rev.  ed.     Nov. 
2^,  1915.     16  p.     (Markets  doc.   i.) 

Name  changed   to  Markets   Bureau,  July,    19 17. 

Weather    Bureau.     Weather    Bureau    [history    and    work]. 

1915.     58  p.  il.  16°. 

Plant  Industry  Bureau.  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  its  func- 
tions and  efficiency.  Mar.  15,  1913.  25  p.  il.  (Cir- 
cular 117.) 

.\nother  paper  included  in  these  pages.     Papers  not  issued  separately. 

Government  bodies'  lists  of  their  oun  publications 

Note. —  Almost  every  publishing  body  of  the  government  issues 
more  or  less  often  lists  of  its  own  publications,  either  complete,  or 
showing  what  is  available  for  distribution.  These  lists  are  usually 
given  freely  to  all  who  desire  them.  Lists  that  include  only  works 
prior  to  the  end  of  1909  are  omitted  here  —  except  a  few  that  coii- 
tain  titles  of  JJulletins  and  of  other  such  works  in  series,  while  the 
Checklist  gives  them  only  by  number  —  as  they  duplicate  the  Check- 
list. Lists  of  jjublications  "  available  for  distribution  "  are  usually 
omitted,  unless  quite  comprehensive,  or  unless  there  is  nothing  else 
to  be  had.  The  Price  Lists  published  by  the  Documents  Office  are, 
many  of  them,  lists  of  publications  of  special  bodies,  and  should  be 
borne  in  mind  to  supplement  the  lists  given  here.  They  usually  ex- 
clude all  works  out  of  print. 

U.  S.  Agriculture  Department. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  List  by  titles 
of  the  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, 1840-June,  1901.  1902.  216  p.  (Publications  Div, 
Bull.  6.) 


252  General  Bibliography 

Monthly  list  of  publications  of  the  Department  of 

Agriculture.     Jan.,  ii<y2-date. 

List  of  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture issued  since  July  i,  1913;  rev.  to  Dec.  31,  1916. 
Apr.  26,  1917.     114  p. 

Complete  list  of  Farmers'  Bulletins  issued  to  Oct. 

IS,  1916.     Nov.  I,  1916.     16  p. 

Animal  Industry  Bureau. ' 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.)  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry.  Ed.  of  July  22,, 
1913-     [1913-]     6  p.     (Publications  Div.     Circular  15.) 

Biological  Survey  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey.  Ed.  of  July  8, 
1913.     [1913.]     2  p.     (Publications  Div.     Circulars.) 

Census  Bureau.     Circular  of  information  concerning  census 

publications,    1790-1916.     Jan.    i,    1917.     124  p.     ([Cir- 
cular] 2.) 

-r List  of  publications  of  the  ioth-i2th  censuses  and  per- 
manent Census  Bureau.     July  i,  1911.     [3]  p.     f°. 

— ' —  Chemistry  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Chemsitry.  Ed.  of  July  8,  1913. 
[1913.]     4  p.     (Publications  Div.     Circular  7.) 

Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  List  and  catalogue  of  the  pub- 
lications issued  .  .  .  1816-1902  .  .  .  with  supplement, 
[Jan.]   1903-  [Aug.]    1908.     1908.     2ZT,  44,  [i]   p.  4°. 

Catalogue  of  charts,  coast  pilots,  and  tide  tables,  1916. 

1916.     231  p.  il.  4°. 

^Same,    supplement    [May    12,    1916.]     1916.    5    p.    4°. 

(Serial  46.) 

Coast  Guard. 

Economy   and    Efficiency   Commission.     Bibliography   of 
the  Revenue  Cutter  Service.     (In  Economy  and  Effi- 
ciency Commission,  Reports,  April  4,  1912,  p.  Z^Z-Zl^'t 
H.  Doc.  670,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  116;  6298.) 
The  Revenue  Cutter  Service  has  now  become  the  Coast  Guard. 

Commerce  Department. 

Publications  Division   (Commerce  Dept.).     Monthly  list 

1  Since  the  changes  in  the  publications  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
that  took  effect  July  i,  1913,  the  separate  lists  of  publications  of  each 
bureau  that  were  appearing  at  frequent  intervals  prior  to  that  date  have 
ceased  appearing. 


General  Bibliography  253 

of  publications  issued  by  the  Department  of  Commerce, 
July,   1914-date. 

List  of  publications  of  the  Department  of  Com- 
merce available  for  distribution.  14th  ed.  Oct.  2,  1916. 
83  p. 

Education  Bureau.     List  of  publications  of  the  bureau,  1867- 

1910.     1910.     55  p.     (Bulletin  1910,  no.  3.) 

Available  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Feb., 

1917.     [1917-]     II  p. 
Publications,  1867-1902.     (In  its  Annual  report,  1900/01, 

V.  I.  pref.  p.  103-112.) 

Checklist  by  publication  number. 

Fntomology  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology.  Ed.  of  July  23,  1913. 
[1913.]     6  p.     (Publications  Div.     Circular  16.) 

Ethnology  Bureau.     List  of  publications  of  the  Bureau  of 

American  Ethnology',  with  index  to  authors  and  titles. 
191 7.    40  p. 

Crop  Estimates  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).     Publications 
of    the    Bureau    of    Statistics.     Ed.    of   July   8,    1913. 
[I9I3-1     3  P-     (Publications  Div.     Circular  12.) 
The  Crop  Estimates  Bureau  was  formerly  the  Statistics  Bureau. 

Fisheries    Bureau.     List    of   publications   of   the   Bureau   of 

Fisheries  available  for  distribution.  May  26,  1916.  23 
p.     (Bureau  of  Fisheries  document  614.) 

Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce  Bureau.  Catalogue  of  bu- 
reau publications,  review  of  information  available  to 
manufacturers  and  exporters  in  bulletins  issued  by  the 
Bureau  of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce.  [Re- 
print] 1916.    47  p. 

Same,  supplement.  Mar.  i,  1917.     [1917.]     4  p. 

List    of    publications    for    sale    by    the    superintendent 

of  documents  and  by  district  officers  of  the  Bureau 
of  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce.  1915.  8  p.  nar- 
row 8°. 

Forest  Service. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).     Publications 
of  the   Forest   Service.     Ed.  of  July  8,   1913.     I1913.] 
5  p.     (Publications  Div.  Circular  11.) 
Geological  Survey.     Publications  of  the  Geological  Survey, 
not  including  topographic  maps.     Dec,  1916.     168  p. 


254  General  Bibliography 

Topographic  maps  and  folios  and  geologic  folios  pub- 
lished by  the  Geological  Survey.  Wash.  Geological 
Survey,  1914.     131  p. 

New  publications,  list  1-111.     Sept.,  1907-May  I,   1917, 

[1907-1917.]     Monthly.     Size  has  varied. 

Hydrographic    Office.     Information    regarding    navigational 

books  and  charts  published  and  sold  by  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Office.  [Washington,  Hydrographic  Office, 
Aug.,  1916.]     2  p.  narrow  i".     (Circular  3.) 

Labor  Department. 

Publications  and  Supplies  Division  (Labor  Dept.).  Pub- 
lications of  the  Department  of  Labor  available  for 
distribution,  Jan.   i,   1917.     1917.     11   p. 

Labor  Statistics  Bureau.     Publications  of  the  Bureau  of  La- 
bor Statistics  up  to  July  i,  1916.     1916.     17  p. 
Bureau  under  this  name  dates  from  Mar.   4,   1913. 

Library  of  Congress.     Publications  issued  by  the  library  since 

1897.     Jan.,  1917.     50  p.  :?o  cm. 

Mines  Bureau.     Publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  Nov., 

1916  [and  publications  that  may  be  obtained  only 
through  the  superintendent  of  documents].     1916.  27  p. 

• National  Museum.     List  of  the  publications  of  the  United 

States  National  Museum,  1875-1900  [including  Bulle- 
tin 1-50].     1902.     168  p.     (Bulletin  51.) 

Same,    supplement    i.     List   of   the   publications   of  the 

United  States  National  Museum,  1901-1906  [including 
Bulletin  51-55]  with  inde.x  to  titles.     1906.    40  p. 

These  lists  give  titles  of  the  bulletins,  which  are  not  given  in 
the  Checklist. 

Plant  Industry  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry.  Ed.  of  July  16,  1913. 
[1913.]     10  p.     (Publications  Div.  Circular  13.) 

Public  Health  Service.     Publications  of  the  Public  Health 

Service,  Sept.,  1915.  1915.  61  p.  (Miscellaneous  pub- 
lication 12.) 

Public  Roads  Office. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Office  of  Public  Roads.  Ed.  of  July  11,  1913. 
[1917,.]     2  p.    (Publications  Div.  Circular  10.) 

Reclamation     Service.     Publications     of     the     Reclamation 

Service   for   sale   by  the    Reclamation    Service.     Aug., 
1916.    46  p.     (List  of  publications  3.) 
Lists  I  and  2  are  called  "  Price  Lists." 


General  Bibliography  255 

Signal  Office.     Publications  of  the   Signal   Service,   1861  to 

July  I,  1890.     (In  its  Annual  report,  i8gi,  p.  389-409.) 

Smithsonian  Institution.  List  of  publications  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  1846-1903.  1903.  99  p.  (Smith- 
sonian miscellaneous  collections,  v.  44,  no.  1376.) 

U.  S.  Soils  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Soils.  Ed.  of  July  22,  1913.  [1913.] 
6  p.     (Publications  Div,  Circular  14.) 

Standards  Bureau.     Publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Standards. 

4th   ed.   issued   July    i,    1913.     1913.    54   p.    25^    cm. 
(Circular  24.) 

Recent  publications  of  the  Bureau  of  Standards,  supple- 
menting, up  to  Apr.  I,  1915,  the  list  published  in  Cir- 
cular no.  24,  4th  edition.     [1915.]     20  p.     No  t.-p. 

States  Relations  Service. 

Experiment  Stations  Office.  The  agricultural  experi- 
ment stations  in  the  United  States  [with  list  of  pub- 
lications of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  and  of 
the  state  experiment  stations].  1900.  636  p.  153  pi. 
map.  (Bulletin  80.  H.  Doc.  507,  s6th  Cong.,  2d  sess, 
In  V.  96;  4170.)     Also  a  plain  title  edition. 

Publications  Div.     (Agric.  Dept).     Publications  of  the 

Office  of  Experiment  Stations.     Ed.  of  July  26,   1913. 
[1913.]     12  p.     (Publications  Div.  Circular  17.) 

The  States  Relations  Service  was  formerly  the  Experiment 
Stations  Office. 

Treasury  Department. 

Printing  and  Stationery  Division  (Treasury  Dept.). 
Publications  of  the  Treasury  Department,   1916.     6  p. 

Government  bodies'  indexes  to  their  ozvn  publications 

U.  S.  Agriculture  Department. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept).  Publications 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  classified  for  the  use 
of  teachers.  Jan.  27,  1912.  36  p.  (Publications  Div. 
Circular  19.) 

Prepared  in  cooperation  with  the  Experiment  Stations  Office. 
Appended  are  titles  of  published  lists  of  the  publications  of 
various   bureaus   of   the   Department   of  Agriculture. 

Documents  Office.     List  of  publications  of  the  Agricul- 
ture   Department,     1862-1902,    with    analytical    index. 
1904.    623   p.     (Bibliography  of   United    States  public 
documents,  department  lists  i.) 
Reviewed  in   Lib.   Jour.,   30:  53. 


256  General  Bibliography 

Publications    Division    (Agriculture    Dept.).     Index    of 

authors,  with  titles  of  their  publications,  appearing  in 
the  documents  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  1841-1897.  1898.  303  p.  (.Publications 
Div.  Bulletin  4.) 

Index  to  the  Annual  reports  of  the  United  States 

Department  of  Agriculture,  1837-1803.  1896  [reprint 
1899].     252  p.     (Pulilications  Div.  P.ullctin  i.) 

Since  1893  reports  have  been  restricted  to  purely  adminis- 
trative business. 

■ Index  to  the  Yearbooks  of  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  1894-1900.  1902.  196  p. 
(Publications' Div.  Bulletin  7.) 

Same,  1901-1905.     1908.  166  p.     (Publications  Div. 

Bulletin  9.) 

Same,  1906-1910.     1913.  146  p.     (Publications  Div. 

Bulletin  10.) 

List  of  titles   of   Farmers'  Bulletins  classified  by 

subjects.    Dec.  13,  1916.     13  p. 

Index  to  Farmers'  Bulletins  nos.  1-500.     1916.     432 

P- 

The  Publications  Division  of  the  Agriculture  Department  is- 
sues also  title-page  with  table  of  contents  and  index  to  each  25 
Farmers'  Bulletins,  and  to  each  25  Bulletins  of  the  depart- 
ment series  begun  July   i,   1913. 

Animal  Industry  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Index  to 
literature  relating  to  animal  husbandry  in  the  publica- 
tions of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
1837-1898.    1900.    676 p.     (Publications  Div.  Bulletins.) 

Crop  Estimates  Bureau. 

Publications  Division  (Agriculture  Dept.).  Synoptical 
index  to  the  reports  of  the  statistician  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  1863-1894.  1897.  258  p.  (Pub- 
lications Div.     Bulletin  2.) 

The  C'rop  Estimates  Bureau  was  formerly  the  Statistics  Bu- 
reau, with  a  head  called  the  statistician. 

Education  Bureau.  Publications,  1867-1890;  with  subject  in- 
dex.    1891.    p.  1453-1551- 

Reprint  from  report  of  the  bureau  for  1888/1889. 

Ind^x  to  reports  .  .  .  1867-1907.  1909.  103  p.  (Bulle- 
tin, 1909.  no.  7.) 

—  Engineer  Department.  Index  to  the  Reports  of  the  chief 
of  engineers,  U.  S.  Army  (including  the  Reports  of 
the    Isthmian    Canal    Commissions,    1899-1914),    1866- 


General  Bibliography  257 

1912.     1915.    2  V.     (H.  Doc.  740,  63d  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
In  V.  20;  6617.) 

V.    I.   Rivers  and  harbors. —  v.  2.  Fortifications,  bridges,  Pan- 
ama Canal,  etc. 
Entomology  Bureau.     Index  to  Bulletins   1-.30  [new  series], 
1896-1901,  of  the  Division  of  Entomology.     1902.    64  p. 
(Bulletin,  new  series,  36.) 

Index  to  Circulars  i-ioo  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology. 

Nov.  2,  191 1,     ii,  49  p.     (Circular  100.) 

■Ethnology  Bureau.  List  of  publications  of  the  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,  with  index  to  authors  and  titles. 
1917.     40  p. 

Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce  Bureau.  Index  to  the  Con- 
sular Reports  nos.  1-239  [v.  1-63,  Oct.,  1880-Aug., 
1900].     1887-1901.     V.  1-5. 

The  Consular  Reports  have  now  taken  the  title,  "  Commerce 
Reports,  Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Reports,"  with  title-page 
and  index  quarterly. 

■Geological  Survey.  Catalogue  and  index  of  the  publications 
of  the  Hayden,  King,  Powell,  and  Wheeler  surveys. 
1904.  208  p.  (Bulletin  222.  H.  Doc.  606,  58th  Cong., 
2d  sess.     In  v.  58;  4684.) 

Index    to    the    hydrographic    progress    reports    of    the 

United     States    Geological     Survey.     1888-1903.     1905. 
253  P-     (Water-supply  and  irrigation  paper  119.) 

■Labor  Department.  Index  of  all  reports  issued  by  bureaus 
of  labor  statistics  in  the  United  States  prior  to  Mar. 
I,  1902.     1902.    287  p. 

-Labor  Statistics  Bureau.  Subject  index  of  the  publications 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  up  to  May  i,  1915. 
Sept.,  1915.  233  p.  (Bulletin  174;  Miscellaneous  se- 
ries 11.    H.  Doc.  1707,  63d  Cong.,  3d  sess.) 

-  Ordnance  Department,  Army.    Index  to  reports  of  the  chief 

of  ordnance,  Army,  1867-1902.     1904.     124  p. 

Orders  and  circulars  of  this  department  have  title-page  and 
index  regularly.  So  do  the  Ordnance  Pamphlets  of  the  Ord- 
nance Bureau.  Navy;  also  the  Circulars  of  the  Militia  Bureau, 
War  Department;  and  doubtless  many  other  series  not  noted 
here. 

-  Plant  Industry  Bureau. 

Index  to  plant  industry  subjects  in  the  Yearbooks  of  the 
Department    of    Agriculture.     Nov.    30,    1908.     55    p. 
(Circular  17.) 
Contents  of  and  index  to  the  Bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of 


258  General  Bibliography 

Plant  Industry,  nos.  i  to  100.  Oct.  12,  1907.  102  p. 
(Bulletin  loi.) 

Smithsonian  institution.  Classified  list  of  Smithsonian  publica- 
tions available  for  distribution,  Dec.  15,  1916.  1916. 
vi,  32  p.     (Publication  2434.) 

Catalogue    of   publications   of    the    Smithsonian    Institution, 

1846-1882,  with  an  alphabetical  index.  1882.  328  p. 
(Smithsonian  miscellaneous  collections,  v.  27,  no.  478.) 

U.  S.  State  Department.  General  index  to  the  published  vol- 
umes of  the  diplomatic  correspondence  and  foreign  re- 
lations of  the  United  States,  1861-1899.     1902,    945  p. 

Hasse,  A.  R.  Index  to  United  States  documents  relat- 
ing to  foreign  affairs,  1828-1861.  In  3  parts,  pt.  i, 
A-H,  Nov.,  1914.     (Carnegie  Institution.     Publication 

185.) 
All  published  to  date. 

States  Relations  Service.     General  index  to  the  Experiment 

Station  Record,  v.  1-12,  1889-1901.     1903.    671  p. 

Same,  to  v.  13-25,  1901-1911.    June  2"],  1913.     1159  p. 

War  Department. 

Adjutant  General's  Department.  Subject  index  of  Gen- 
eral Orders  of  the  War  Department,  Jan.  i,  1809-Dec. 
31,  i860.     1886. 

Same,  Jan.  i,  i86i-Dec.  31,  1880.     1862. 

Subject  index  to  General  Orders  and  Circulars  of 

the  War  Department  and  Headquarters  of  the  Army, 
Adjutant  General's  Office,  Jan.  i,  i88i-Dec.  31,  1900. 
Apr.,  1901. 

Analytical  index  of  General  Orders,  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral's Office,  1861-1876.     1878. 


II 

Bibliography  of  the 

Printing  Investigation  Commission,  1905-1913 

And  Official  Publications  Since 

Note. —  See  also  under  Bibliography:  General:  Public  Printing  to  1905, 
especially  S.  Keport  18,  s^d  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  of  Jan.  13,  189^,  and  note. 
For  resume  of  each  law  passed  see,  under  appropriate  date,  Bibliography 
of  Laws. 

The  Printing  Investigation  Commission  was  created  by  the  de- 
ficiencies appropriation  act  of  Mar.  3,  1905,  58th  Congress,  3d 
session.  It  was  continued  and  its  scope  enlarged  by  the  sundry 
civil  appropriation  act  of  June  30,  1906,  59th  Congress,  ist  ses- 
sion ;  and  by  deficiencies  appropriation  acts  of  Mar.  4,  1907,  59th 
Congress,  2d  session,  and  Mar.  4,  1909,  60th  Congress,  2d  session. 
Again  continued  by  sundry  civil  appropriation  act  of  Mar.  4,  191 1. 
6ist  Congress,  3d  session,  during  term  of  62d  Congress  (expired 
Mar.  4,  1913). 

See  Congressional  Record,  58th  Cong.,  3d  sess.;  Feb.  9,  11,  16, 
17,  1905;  V.  39:2147,  2389,  2709  (Senate),  2801  (H.  of  R.)  ;  same, 
59th  Cong.,  2d  sess.     H.  of  R. ;  Mar.  4,  1907;  v.  41  :  4668. 

The  action  of  the  commission  in  introducing  reforms  can  be 
traced  in  the  following  publications.  It  procured  several  more 
pressing  reforms  by  the  passage  of  special  resolutions  or  bills.  A 
quite  comprehensive  bill  including  needed  new  legislation  the  com- 
mission had  passed  without  opposition  in  the  law  of  Mar.  i,  1907. 
It  then  prepared  a  general  printing  bill  intended  to  supersede  the 
act  of  Jan.  12,  1895,  and  to  revise  and  codify  the  whole  body  of 
printing  legislation.  This  was  introduced,  usually  in  identical 
text,  but,  of  course,  with  the  bill  number  of  its  respective  house, 
in  both  houses,  as  follows  :  — 


60th  Congress :  S.   9406 

H.  6539 

:  H.  28247 

64th  Congress 

S.    I 107 

6ist   Congress:  S.    10646 

S.   7795 

62d    Congress:  S.   2564 

H.  323 

:  S.   4239 

H.  8664 

63d    Congress:  S.   825 

H.  21021 

:  S.    5340 

The  bill  has  been  extended. 

somewhat  modified, 

and,  in  the  64th 

Congress,  rearranged.     It  still  awaits  action  by  Congress  to  be- 

come law. 

259 

26o        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

U.  S.  President  (Roosevelt).  [Warning  against  extravagance  in 
the  public  printing].  (In  his  Annual  message  to  57th 
Congress,  2d  session,  Dec.  2,  1902.    In  Cong.  Record,  36: 

12.) 

One   paragrajih   only. 

Notliing  on  this  subject  in  message  of  1903. 

Same.     (In  same  to  58th  Congress,  3d  session,  Dec.  6, 

1904.  In  Cong.  Record,  39:  lO.) 

Une   paragraph   only. 

Same.     (In  same  to  59th  Congress,  1st  session,  Dec.  5, 

1905.  In  Cong.  Record,  40:95.) 
Less  than  one  paragraph. 

Congress.     H.  of  R.   Printing  Committee.     Report  favoring 

S.4261,  to  provide  for  printing,  and  binding  in  half  mo- 
rocco, additional  copies  of  the  first  edition  of  government 
documents  and  publications  for  distribution  to  the  desig- 
nated depository  libraries  in  lieu  of  the  sheep-bound  cop- 
ies of  the  Document  edition,  so-called,  now  supplied  to 
said  libraries.  Feb.  7,  1903.  7  p.  (H.  Report  3663,  57th 
Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  3 ;  4415.) 

Contains  text  of  bill,  and  hearings  including  statement  favoring^ 
bill  by  Superintendent  of  Documents  Ferreil.  Bill  also  recom- 
mended in  his  report,  1901/2.  Also  recommended  in  report  of 
the  documents  committee  of  the  A.  L.  A.  by  R.  P.  Falkner,  chair- 
man, June,   1902. 

Department    Methods    Committee    ("Keep    Commission"). 

Government  Printing  Office.  Report  on  purchase  of  type- 
setting machines  for  the  Government  Printing  Office. 
[Aug.  4,  1905.]     26  p.  4°. 

Public  printing.     [Jan.  2,  1906.]     12  p.  4°. 

Government    Printing   Office.     Report   of   examination   into 

cost  of  printing,  at  reduced  price,  special  edition  of  the 
Congressional  Record  [for  sale  to  the  general  public]. 
Dec.  II,  1905.  1906.  2  p.  (S.  Doc.  108,  59th  Cong.,  2d 
sess.     In  V.  3;  5070.) 

Printing    Investigation    Commission.     Report.     1906.     2    v, 

V.  I.  Hearings,     v.  2.  Appendix  and  preliminary  report. 

Surplus  copies  of  departmental  editions  of  government 

publications  as  shown  in  appendix  to  report  of  commis- 
sion, 1906.     1906.    32  p. 

Also  in  the  Report,  v.  2,  p.  541-582. 

President  (Roosevelt).    Executive  order  directing  that  head 

of  each  executive  department  shall  appoint  advisory  com- 
mittee on  printing  and  publications,  and  assigning  rules 
governing  annual  reports  of  departments.  Jan.  20,  1906. 
I  p.  f°. 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        261 

^  Same.     (In   U.    S.    Printing  Investigation   Commission. 

Preliminary   report.     June   25,    191 0.     p.   50-Si-     S.   Doc. 

652,  6ist  Cong.,  2(1  sess.) 
•Congress.     H.  of  R.  Printing  Committee.     Report  favoring 

H.  J.  Res.  127,  to  correct  abuses  in  the  public  printing,  and 

for  allotment  of  cost  of  ceriam  Documents  and  Reports. 

March  24,  1906.     1  p.     (H.  Report  2652,  59th  Cong.,  ist 

sess.     In  V.  i :  4906.)     Approved  Mar.  30,  1906.     Stat.  L. 

34:825-826.     Public  res.  13. 

See  Cong.  Record,  59th  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  H.  ot  R. ;  Mar.  26, 
1906;   V.  40:4303-4305;   Landis  and  others. 

Report  favoring  H.  J.  Res.  128.  to  prevent  un- 
necessary printing  and  binding,  and  to  correct  evils  in  the 
distribution  of  public  documents.  Mar.  24,  1906.  i  p. 
(H.  Report  2653,  59th  Cong.,  ist  sess.  In  v.  i;  49o6.) 
Approved  Mar.  30.  1906.  Stat.-L.  34:  826.  Public  res.  14- 
See  Cong.  Record,  59th  CV.ng..  jst  sess.,  H.  of  R.;  Mar.  26, 
1906;   V.   40:4305-4306:   Landis  and   others, 

-Printing  Investigation  Commission.  Preliminary  report. 
Mar.  24,  1906.  92  p.  (H,  Doc.  649,  59th  Cong.,  ist  sess. 
In  v.  .49;  4989-) 

Appended  are  tables  of  department  publications,  and  of  ap- 
propriations. 

Same.    Mar.   26,    1906.    92   p.     (S.    Report   2153,   59th 

Cong.,  1st  sess.     In  v.  2;  4905-) 

Identical    with    the    preceding. 

Same.     (In  U.   S.   Printing   Investigation   Commission. 

Report.     1906,  v.  2.  p.  583-691.) 

Same,   without    tabulated    matter.     (In    Cong.    Record. 

59th  Cong.,  1st  sess.  Senate;  Mar.  26,  1906;  v.  40:  4261- 
4262. ) 

-Congress.  Printing  Joint  Committee.  Regulations  making 
effective  public  resolution  14,  approved  Mar.  30,  1906. 
May  18.  1906.     [5]  leaves,  oblong  i". 

Provide  for  printing  Congressional  and  other  publications  in 
two  editions,  the  first  less  than  the  authorized  number,  and  no 
other  to  be  issued  till  need  for  it  is  shown.  Consists  of  one  page 
of  regulations,  and  tour  leaves  giving  number  of  copies  for  first 
editit'n    of    124   publicati'ins,   with   their  distribution. 

Same.  (In  U.  S.  Printing  Investigation  Commis- 
sion.   Report.     1906,  v.  2,  p.  677-691.) 

H.    of     R.     Appropriations     Committee.     Supplemental 

hearing  [June  8,  1906,  on  H. 19844.  59th  Cong.,  ist 
sess.]  sundry  civil  appropriation  bill,  [fiscal  year]  1907, 
printing  and  binding,  revised  estimates  [by  committee  on 
printing].     1906.     9  P- 


262        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

Senate.     Printing    Committee.     Inquiry    into   causes    of 

delay  [in  Government  Printing  Office]  in  completing 
work  of  ist  session  of  59th  Congress;  report  of  Albert 
H.  Howe  [with  hearings,  July  7-13,  1906].     igo6.     123  p. 

Printing    Investigation    Commission.     Supplemental    report. 

Feb.  18.  1907.  14  p.  (H.  Doc.  736,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
In  V.  S3  I  5156.) 

Includes  draft  of  bill. 

See  Cong.  Kecord,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess..  H.  of  R. ;  Teb.  26,  1907; 
V.   4: :  .3997-3999;   includes  text  of  bill;  Landis. 
See  also   Monthly   Catalog,  Jan.,    1908.  p.   263. 

Report  submitting  S.8510.  to  amend  act  providing  for 

the  public  printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of  public 
documents.  Feb.  18,  1907.  12  p.  (S.  Report  6828,  59th 
Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v.  2 ;  5061.)  Approved  Mar.  i,  1907, 
Stat.  L.  34:  1012-1015 

Identical  with  the  preceding  except  that  draft  of  bill,  p.    12-14, 
is   omitted. 

Same.     (In  Cong.  Record,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate; 

Feb.  18,  1907:  V.  41:  3176-3179.) 

Congress.  H.  of  R.  Printing  Committee.  Report  amend- 
ing H. 25736,  to  amend  act  providing  for  the  public  print- 
ing and  binding  and  distribution  of  public  documents. 
Feb.  21,  1907.  I  p.  (H.  Report  8058,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
In  V.  2;  5065.) 

Bill    identical    with    S.8510. 

Senate.     Printing  Committee.     Report  amending  S.Ssio, 

to  amend  act  providing  for  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing and  distribution  of  public  documents.  Feb.  22,  1907. 
1  p.  (S.  Report  7257,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v.  2; 
5061.)     Approved  Mar.  i,  1907.     Stat.  L.  34:  1012-1015. 

H.  of  R.    Printing  Committee.    Report  amending  S.8510, 

to  amend  act  providing  for  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing and  distribution  of  public  documents.  Feb.  26,  1907. 
I  p.  (H.  Report  8101,  59th  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v.  2; 
5065.)     Approved  IMar.  i,  1907.     Stat.  L.  34:  1012-1015. 

Senate.     Printing   Committee.     Report   amending   S.   J. 

R.  I,  amending  [sec.  2  of]  act  relative  to  the  public  print- 
ing and  binding,  approved  Mar.  i,  1907.  Dec.  4,  1907. 
6  p.  (S.  Report  i,  both  Cong.,  ist  sess.  In  v.  i:  5218.) 
Approved  Jan.  15,  1908.     Stat.  L.  35 :  565-5C6. 

H.  of  R.     Printing  Committee.     Report  amending  S.  J. 

R.  I,  amending  [sec.  2  of]  act  relative  to  the  public  print- 
ing and  binding,  approved  Mar.  i,  1907.  Jan.  11.  1908. 
I  p.  (H.  Report  52,  6oth  Cong.,  ist  sess.  In  v.  i ;  5225.) 
Approved  Jan.  15,  1908.     Stat.  L.  35-565-566. 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        263 

See  Cong.  Record,  6oth  Cong.,  ist  session,  H.  of  R.;  Dec.  i6, 
1907;   V.   42:  357;    Landis.     Almost  no   discussion  in    Senate. 

Printing    and     Publications    Division     (Commerce    Dept.). 

Comparative  costs  of  printing  for  the  executive  depart- 
ments ;  report  to  the  President  of  Geo.  C.  Havenner  [and 
reply  of  C.  A.  Stillings].     1908.    63  p.    2  tables. 

Havenner  was  chief  of  this  division. 

Printing    Investigation    Commission.     [Statement    showing] 

appropriations  and  expenditures  for  public  printing  and 
binding  [and  expenditures  from  appropriations  other  than 
those  made  specifically  therefor;  $1,000,000  worth  done 
outside  the  Government  Printing  Office]  during  the  fiscal 
years  1905-1907;  by  Victor  L.  Ricketts.     1908.     [i]  70  p. 

Kicketts  was  secretary  to  the  commission. 

Memoranda  relative  to  binding  of  publications  for  dis- 
tribution to  state  and  territorial  libraries  and  designated 
depositories.     1908.    46  p. 

H.  of  R.  Letter  from  superintendent  of  document  room  rec- 
ommending changes  in  certain  features  and  detail  of 
printing  and  Congressional  [Record]  index  service.  Feb. 
20,  1908.  2  p.  (H.  Doc.  703,  60th  Cong.,  I  St  sess.  In  v. 
108;  5377-) 

Recommends  numbering  laws,  resolutions,  etc.,  consecutively 
through  a  Congress;  starring  in  the  Congressional  Record  index 
the  bills  that  passed;  and  other  improvements  mostly  now  adopted. 

Rossiter,  Wm.  S.  Report  to  the  President  upon  conditions  pre- 
vailing in  the  Government  Printing  Office  [and  reply 
thereto  by  C.  A.  Stillings,  public  printer].  Alay  12,  1908. 
150  p.     illus. 

At  top   of  title:     "Confidential." 

Same.     (H.  Doc.  974,  60th  Cong.,  ist  sess.    In  v.  105;  5374.) 

May  25,  1908,  the  Joint  Printing  Committee  adopted  a  reso- 
lution asking  the  public   printer  to  submit  to  the  com- 
mittee for  approval  estimates  of  all  proposed  purchases 
of  machinery,  equipment,  etc.,  amounting  to  over  $1,000. 
See  Senate  Report  438,  63d  Congress,  2d  session,  p.  6. 

U.  S.  Printing  Investigation  Commission.  Letter  transmitting 
report  of  subcommittee  on  investigation  relating  to  pur- 
chase of  certain  supplies  for  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing, and  operations  of  the  audit  system  in  the  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  and  making  recommendations  with 
relation  to  future  appropriations  for  public  printing  and 
binding.  May  26,  1908.  19  p.  (H.  doc.  968,  6oth  Cong., 
1st  sess.    In  v.  105;  5374.) 

— Same.     May    27,    1908.     19    p.     (S.    Report    695,    60th 

Cong.,  1st  sess.     In  v.  2;  5219.) 


264        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

Congress.  Printing  Joint  Committee.  Regulations,  super- 
seding regulations  promulgated  May  18,  1906.  [Jan.  13, 
1909.]     f°. 

Limited   edition. 

Printing    Investigation    Commission.     Supplemental    report. 

Recommendations  in  relation  to  appropriations  for  public 
printing  and  binding,  etc.  Feb.  6,  1909.  5  p.  (S.  Report 
932,  60th  Cong.,  2(1  sess.     In  v.  i ;  5380.) 

Relate  to  appropriations  for  publications  of  the  Geological  Sur- 
vey, for  the  Documents  Office,  and  for  the  supply  of  depository 
libraries,  for  leaves  of  absence  and  holidays,  for  expenditures  for 
machinery,  equipment,  and  salaries,  and  inspector  for  the  commit- 
tee, all  in  the  Government   Printing  Office. 

Report   recommending   legislation   relative   to   printing, 

binding,  and  distribution  of  public  documents  [to  accom- 
pany S.9406].  Feb.  18,  1909.  31  p.  (H.  Doc.  1464,  6oth 
Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  147;  55S7-) 

Much  information  and  draft  of  legislation. 

Same,  except  p.  13-31,  draft  of  legislation.     (In  Cong. 

Record,  60th  Cong.,  2d  sess.  Senate;  Feb.  19,  1909;  v. 
43:2673-2676.) 

Report  to  accompany  S.9406,  to  codify,  revise  and  amend 

laws  relating  to  the  public  printing  and  binding  and  dis- 
tribution of  public  documents.  Feb.  19,  1909.  31  p.  (S. 
Report  1044,  60th  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  i ;  5380.) 

Same  as  preceding  H.   Doc.    1464. 

Congress.    H.  of  R.     Printing  Committee.    Report  amending 

H.28247,  to  codify,  revise,  and  amend  laws  relating  to 
the  public  printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of  public 
documents.  Feb.  23,  1909.  i  p.  (H.  Report  2308,  60th 
Cong.,  2d  sess.    In  v.  i;  5384.) 

Report   favoring  H.24864,   for  distribution  of 

the  Congressional  Record  and  public  bills,  documents, 
etc.,  to  governor  general  of  Philippine  Islands.  Feb.  23, 
1909.  I  p.  (H.  Report  2316,  60th  C(jng.,  2d  sess.  In 
V.  i;  5384.)     Approved  Mar.  4,  1909.     Stat.  L.  35:  1067. 

Report  submitting  H.  J.  R.  263,  to  provide  for 

the  distribution  by  members  of  the  60th  Congress  of 
Documents,  Reports,  and  other  publications,  as  substitute 
for  H.  R.  524.  Feb.  23,  1909.  i  p.  (H.  Report  2272, 
6oth  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v.  i;  5384.)  Approved  Mar.  2, 
1909.     Stat.  L.  35:  1 168. 

The  6ist  Congress  having  been  called  in  extra  session  for  Mar. 
15,  this  resolution  provides  that  outgoing  members  shall  have 
control  of  distribution  of  publications  of  6oth  Congress,  as  is 
customary,  till  first  Monday  in  December.     Shows  feeling  of  repre- 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        265 

sentatives  about  their  distribution.  See  Cong.  Record,  6oth  Con- 
gress, 2d  session,  H.  of  K.;  Mar.  i,  1909;  v.  43:3510-3514. 

Joint  resolution  [H.  J.  R.  38,  6ist  Congress,  ist  sess.] 

repealing  joint  resolution  [of  Mar.  2,  1909].  Approved 
Apr.  22,  1909.     Stat.  L.  36 :  182. 

See  Cong.  Record,  6ist  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  H.  of  R.;  Apr.  5,  1909; 
V,  44:  1075-1077. 

No  Reports  in  either  house,  and  no  discussion  in  Senate. 

H.   of   R.     Select   Committee   on   Useless    Papers    and 

Documents.  Report  to  accoinpany  H.  Res.  220,  disposing 
of  certain  documents  now  in  the  folding  room  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Jan.  8,  1910.  2  p.  (H.  Re- 
port 116,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  A;  5594.) 

Includes  long  list  of  publications  in  storage  rooms  of  folding 
room  which  are  offered  for  general  distribution  to  members.  Re- 
port and  list  are  printed  in  Cong.  Record,  45:  445-453.  Resolution 
passed. 

See  Cong.  Record,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  H.  of  R. ;  Jan.  8,  igio; 
V.    43 :  445-453.    594-6oo. 

■  Printing  Investigation  Commission.  Hearings,  Mar.  17,  1910, 
[relative  to  investigation  of  branch  printing  offices  of 
Government  Printing  Office],     iv,  45  p. 

■Congress.  H.  of  R.  Printing  Committee.  Hearings  rela- 
tive to  S.  J.  R,  S7  [requiring  the  translation  into  the  Eng- 
lish language  of  foreign  public  papers  and  documents], 
Mar.  25,  1910.     1910.    34  p. 

Senate.     Printing  Committee.     Report  favoring  S.7661, 

to  amend  sec.  54  of  act  approved  Jan.  12, 1895,  as  amended 
by  public  resolution  36,  approved  June  30,  1902  [so  as  to 
abolish  the  printing  of  the  Documents  and  Reports  now 
reserved  to  be  bound  for  members  and  officers  of  Con- 
gress]. Apr.  16,  1910.  4  p.  (S.  Report  568,  6rst  Cong., 
2d  sess.  In  v.  2;  5583.)  Approved  June  25,  igio.  Stat. 
L.  36 :  868. 

Same.     (In  Cong.  Record,  61  st  Cong.,  2d  sess., 

Senate;  May  4,  1910;  v.  45  :  5787-5788.) 
No  debate. 
See  also   Monthly  Catalog,  Apr.,   1910. 

Hearings,   May  7,    1910.   relative  to  valuation 

system  for  distribution  of  publications  by  senators  and 
representatives.     16  p. 

See  Cong.  Record,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  H.  of  R.;  Jan.  13, 
1910;  V.  45:  597-598. 

Mr.   Walter   I.    Smith,   representative    from    Iowa,    describes   his 
valuation  plan. 

Report  favoring  S.  J.  R.  99,  to  amend  resolu- 
tion approved  Mar.  28.  1904.  relating  to  the  sale  of  public 
documents  by  the  superintendent  of  documents.     May  23, 


266        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

1910.  2  p.  (S.  Report  731,  61  St  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v. 
3;  5584.) 

Authorizes  him  to  reprint  for  sale  Congressional,  as  well  as 
department    i)ublications. 

H.  of  R.     Printing  Committee.     Report  favoring  S.  J. 

R.  99,  to  amend  resolution  approved  Mar.  28,  1904,  relat- 
ing to  the  sale  of  piihlic  documents  by  the  superintendent 
of  documents.  June  21,  1910.  2  p.  (H.  Report  1677, 
6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  3;  S593-) 

Almost  identical  with  the  preceding. 

Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Report  referring  to  com- 
mittee on  appropriations,  with  recommendation  of  favor- 
able action,  amendment  to  H.25552,  making  appropria- 
tions for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  government, 
1910/11,  authorizing  more  expensive  binding  of  messages 
and  papers  of  the  President,  mss.  and  portfolios  of  the 
State  Department,  valuable  and  rare  books  and  mss.  for 
the  Library  of  Congress,  etc.  May  23,  1910.  2  p.  (S. 
Report  734,  61  St  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  3;  5584.) 

H.  of  R.     Printing  Committee.     Report  favoring  S. 7661, 

to  amend  sec.  54  of  act  approved  Jan:  12,  1895,  as 
amended  by  public  resolution  36,  approved  June  30, 
1902  [so  as  to  abolish  the  printing  of  the  Documents 
and  Reports  now  reserved  to  be  bound  for  members  and 
officers  of  Congress].  June  23,  191G.  4  p.  (H.  Report 
171 1,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v.  3;  5593-)  Approved 
June  25,  1910.     Stat.  L.  36 :  868. 

See  Cong.  Record,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  H.  of  R. ;  June  23, 
1910;  V.   45:  8858-8859. 

Printing     Investigation     Commission.     Preliminary     report. 

June  25,  1910.  81  p.  (S.  Doc.  652,  6ist  Cong.,  2d  sess. 
In  V.  61 ;  5660.) 

Preparatory  to  introduction  of  general  printing  bill.  Informa- 
tion and  general  discussion,  especially  on  distribution  to  deposi- 
tories, on  branch  printing  offices,  and  on  department  printing 
supervision. 

—  Congress.  Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Report  amending 
S. 10646,  to  amend,  revise,  and  codify  laws  relating  to  the 
public  printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of  govern- 
ment publications.  Feb.  20,  ^911.  48  p.  (S.  Report 
1200,  6ist  Cong.,  3d  sess.    In  v.  i;  5840.) 

An  edition  of  this  was  printed  in  blank  as  to  bill  number,  which 
house,  date,  Report  number,  etc.;  and  with  "Commission  print" 
at  top  of  title. 

— — Comparison  of  S.2564   [62d  Cong.,   ist  sess.], 

printing  bill,  with  existing  printing  laws.  [1911.]  117  p. 
oblong  large  8°. 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        267 

Printing  Joint  Committee.     Statement  showing  price  per 

pound  paid  for  various  classes  of  paper  bought  for  the 
Government  Printing  Office  from  1902/3  to  191 1/12,  and 
average  price  of  each  class  for  ten-year  period,  also  cor- 
responding prices  in  General  Supply  Committee's  schedule 
for  1911/12.     1912.     [i]  9  leaves,  oblong  i°. 

Senate.     Printing  Committee.     Report  amending  S.4239, 

to  amend,  revise,  and  codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  pub- 
lic printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of  government 
publications.  Jan.  16,  1912.  55  p.  (S.  Report  201,  62d 
Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  i ;  6120.) 

Takes  up  bill  section  by  section.  This  and  House  Report  8i6 
of  June   I,   J 91 2,  are  very  similar  but  not  identical. 

Loose  leaf  binders;  hearing  on  S.4239,  Jan.  26, 

1912.     1912.     19  p. 

Relates  to  the  supply  of  loose-leaf  binders  to  government  offices 
by  the   Government  Printing  Office,  and   patented  articles. 

See  Cong.  Record,  626.  Cong.,  2d  sess..  Senate;  Apr.  9,  1912; 
V.    48:  4474-4477. 

Compensation  of  pressmen;  hearing  on  S.4239, 

Feb.  2,  1912;  statement  of  J.  F.  Geckler.     1912.     9  p. 

Relates  to  increase  in  compensation  of  pressmen  in  Government 
Printing  Office. 

See  Cong.  Record,  626.  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate;  Apr.  9,  1912; 
V.  48:  4472-4474. 

■  Economy  and  Efficiency  Commission.  Reports  relative  to 
centralization  of  distribution  of  government  publications, 
and  so  forth.  Feb.  5,  1912.  ^j  p.  3  plates.  (S.  Doc. 
293,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.    In  v.  36;  6175.) 

Report  sent  to  President  Dec,  191 1.  p.  5-24  deal  with  distri- 
bution of  public  documents,  including  mechanical  processes.  Rec- 
ommends distribution  from  departments  to  be  done  through  the 
Documents  Office.  Quotes  Documents  Office  report  stating  that 
Congressional  distribution  nullifies  centralization.  Notice  in  Lib. 
Jour.,  36:  38s,   1911. 

Congress.  Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Report  amend- 
ing S.4239,  to  amend,  revise,  and  codify  the  laws  relating 
to  the  public  printing  and  binding  and  distribution  of 
government  publications.  Feb.  28,  1912.  60  p.  (S.  Re- 
port 414,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  i ;  6120.) 

Takes  up  bill  section  by  section.  Topic  headings  throughout 
this  Report  are  the  same  as  in  preceding  Senate  Report  201,  of 
Jan.  16,  1912.  In  this  there  are  several  slight  amendments,  but 
the  principal  one  strikes  out  the  section  relating  to  printing  bonds, 
etc.,   on   power   presses  in   the   Bureau   of   Engraving  and   Printing. 

See  Cong.  Record,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess..  Senate;  Apr.  5.  9,  1912; 
V.  48:  4325-4326;  4466-4472.  Discussion  of  S.4239,  especially  on 
proposed  edition  of  Congressional  Record  of  one  million  copies, 
with  estimate  of  cost;  and  incidentally  on  demand  and  supply  to 
members. 


268        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

Smoot,  Reed.  Speech  in  Senate  [on  S.4239]  ;  Mar.  12-13,  1912 
[62d  Cong.,  3d  sess.].    71  p.  1912. 

Able  i)resentation  of  history  of  printing  legislation  and  reforms 
needed. 

Same.     (In  Cong.  Record,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate;  Mar. 

12-13,  1912;  V.  48:3184-3196;  3244-3254.) 

U.  S.  Congress.  H.  of  R.  Printing  Committee.  Report  favor- 
ing S.  J.  R.  93,  authorizing  the  librarian  of  Congress  to 
furnish  a  copy  of  the  daily  and  bound  Congressional 
Record  to  the  under  secretary  of  state  for  external  af- 
fairs of  Canada  in  exchange  for  a  copy  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary Hansard.  Apr.  4,  1912.  r  p.  (H.  Report  490, 
62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.     In  v.  3 ;  6131.)     Stat.  L.  37-(>32- 

Economy  and  Efficiency  Commission.  Economy  and  effi- 
ciency in  the  government  service  .  .  .  reports.  Apr.  4, 
1912.  56s  p.  (H.  Doc.  670,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In  v. 
116;  6298.) 

Recommends  practicable  economies  in  all  departments.  Apx. 
8,  p.  535-558,  is:  Centralization  of  distribution  of  government 
publications.  Refers  to  and  again  recommends  plan  outlined  in 
report  of  commission  to  President,  Dec.  4,  191 1,  by  him  sent  to 
Congress  Feb.  S,  1912.  Plan  is  to  have  all  distribution  from  de- 
partments done  through  Documents  Office.  Congressional  distri- 
bution this  time  not  touched  on.  Discussed  in  House  hearings  of 
May  20-22,  1 912. 

Congress.    H.    of    R.     Printing    Committee.     Hearings    on 

S.4239.     May  20-22,  1912.     161  p. 

Report  amending  S.4239,  to  amend,  revise,  and 

codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing and  distribution  of  government  publications.  June 
I,  1912.  60  p.  (H.  Report  816,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.  In 
V.  4;  6132.) 

This  and  Senate  Report  201  of  Jan.  16,  1912,  are  very  similar 
but  not  identical. 

See  Cong.  Record,  62d  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  H.  of  R.;  June  18, 
1912;  V.  48:  8336-8344. 

Discussion  of  appropriations  for  Printing  Investigation  Com- 
mission; on  increase  of  salary  of  public  printer;  and  on  printing 
speeches  of  members  for  distribution,  and  waste  in  public  printing 
in  general. 
Commerce  and  Labor  Department.  Draft  of  bill  to  author- 
ize secretary  of  commerce  and  labor  to  sell  such  tech- 
nical, scientific,  statistical,  and  other  publications,  issued 
by  department,  as  he  may  deem  best  for  the  public  in- 
terest. Feb.  4,  1913.  2  p.  (H.  Doc,  1338,  62d  Cong.,  3d 
sess.  In  V.  138;  6504.) 
Congress.  Printing  Joint  Committee.  Congressional  print- 
ing handbook :  laws,  orders,  rules,  and  regulations  relat- 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        269 

ing  to  printing  and  binding  and  the  distribution  of  gov- 
ernment publications  for  Congress,  and  to  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  Printing.     1913.     168  p.     24mo. 

II.    of    R.     Printing   Committee.     Public    printing   and 

binding;  hearings  on  H.  R.  15902,  a  bill  to  amend,  re- 
vise and  codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  public  printing 
and  binding  and  distribution  of  government  publications. 
Mar.  9,  Apr.  2,  9,  and  21,   1914    [63d  Cong.,  2d  sess.]. 

1914.     78  p. 

H.I 5902,  S.82S,  and  S.S340  are  identical  bills,  and  same  as 
S.4J39  of  the  62d  Congress. 
Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Public  printing  and  bind- 
ing; hearing  ...  on  S.825,  a  bill  to  amend,  revise,  and 
codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing and  distribution  of  government  publications;  Mar.  14 
and  21,  1914  [63d  Cong.,  2d  sess.].     1914.     75  p. 

Revision  of  printing  laws:  report  to  accom- 
pany S.5340.  Apr.  22,  1914.  119  p.  (S.  Report  438,  63d 
Cong.,  2d  sess.    In  v.  i ;  6552.) 

H.   of   R.     Printing   Committee.     Revision   of    printing 

laws;  report  to  accompany  H. 15902.  Apr.  22,  1914.  119 
p.     (H.  Report  564,  63d  Cong..  2d  sess.     In  v.  2 ;  6559.) 

Identical  with  preceding  report  and  on   identical  bill.  % 

See    Cong.    Record,    63d    Cong.,    id    sess.,    H.    of    R.;    1914;    v. 

51:13988-97    (Aug.   19),    14290.   14296-7,   14298,   14299-311    (Aug. 

26),   14614-25,   14627-37    (Sept.  2),    14869-88    (Sept.  9),    15224-49 

(Sept.     16),     15595-610     (Sept.    2->,'),     15963-66,     15969-81     (Sept. 

30),   16677-94   (Oct.    15).     Also  Same,  63d  Cong.,  3d  sess.,  H.  of 

R.;  Dec.  9,  1914;  v.  52:  56-62. 
No  particular  debate  in  Senate. 

Senate.     Printing     Committee.     Revision     of     printing 

laws;  report  to  accompany  H. 15902.  Jan.  13,  1915.  12  p. 
(S.  Report  904,  63d  Cong.,  3d  sess.    In  v.  i ;  6762.) 

Touches   on   various   points,   but   p.    6-12    is   on   postal   stamped 
envelops. 

H.  of  R.     Printing  Committee.    Report  to  accompany 

H.  J.  R.  393,  to  discontinue  the  printing  of  certain  publi- 
cations [— i.  e..  Ethnology  Bulletins,  Geological  Survey 
Bulletins,  Professional  Papers,  and  Water-supply  Pa- 
pers—  for  Congressional  distribution].  March  2,  1915. 
I  p.  (H.  Report  1484,  63d  Cong.,  3d  sess.  In  v.  I ; 
6766.) 

Printing  Joint  Committee.     Revised  edition  regulations 

of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  making  effective  pub- 
lic resolution  14,  ist  session.  59th  Congress  .  .  .  approved 
March  30,  1906,  and  superseding  regulations  promulgated 


270        Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation 

May  18,  1906,  and  January  13,  1909  (corrected  to  Octo- 
ber 6,  1914).  [1914]  13  P-  f'- 
Valuation  plan  for  distribution  of  government  pub- 
lications to  members  of  Congressi  as  proposed  in  H.8664 
and  S.I  107,  with  itemized  statements  showing  value  of 
documents  distributed  through  folding  rooms  of  House 
and  Senate  during  fiscal  years  1905-1915.     1916.    63  p.  4°. 

H.8664   and   S.I  107   are   identical   bills. 

See  also  Documents  Office,  Report,  1910/n:  Notes;  also  p.  yz 
of  next  entry. 

H.   of    R.     Printing   Committee.     Revision   of    printing 

laws;  report  to  accompany  H.  R.  8664  [to  amend,  revise, 
and  codify  the  laws  relating  to  tlie  public  printing  and 
binding  and  distribution  of  government  publications]. 
Jan.  II,  1916.  132  p.  (H.  Report  z^,  64th  Cong.,  ist 
sess.) 

Identical  with  Senate  Report  183  following,  except  for  some 
slight  additions  to  the   latter. 

See  Cong.  Record,  64th  Cong.,  ist  sess.,  H.  of  R. ;  Apr.  20,  26, 
1916;  V.   53:6505-6529,  6864-6885. 

P.   6505-6529   is  largely  discussion  of  the  valuation  plan. 

Senate.     Printing     Committee.     Revision     of     printing 

laws;  report  to  accompany  S.1107  [to  amend,  revise,  and 
codify  the  laws  relating  to  the  public  printing  and  bind- 
ing and  distribution  of  government  publications].  Feb. 
25,  1916.     134  p.     (S.  Report  183,  64th  Cong.,  ist  sess.) 

identical  with  House  Report  Z2  preceding,  except  for  some 
slight  additions,  and  on  identical  bill. 

Rate  of  pay  for  compositors  and  bookbinders 

in  the  Government  Printing  Office ;  report  to  accompany 
S.6626.  July  19,  1916.  2  p.  (S.  Report  690,  64th  Cong., 
1st  sess.) 

H.  of  R.  Printing  Committee.  Rate  of  pay  for  com- 
positors and  bookbinders,  Government  Printing  Office ; 
report  to  accompany  S.6626.  Aug.  15,  19 16.  i  p.  (H. 
Report  1116,  64th  Cong.,  ist  sess.) 

See  Cong.  Record,  64th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate;  Dec.  15,  1916; 
V.  54:   [unbound]   p.  395. 

Discusses  S.  res.  290,  64th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  requesting  commit- 
tee on  printing  to  investigate  the  subject  and  report  within  thirty 
days  as  to  what  bulletins  or  publications  issued  by  the  govern- 
ment may  be  suspended,  temporarily  at  least,  and  as  to  what 
economies  may  be  practiced  in  the  use  of  print  paper  by  the 
government  in  the  various  departments.  Passed  Dec.  15,  1916. 
Text  of  resolution  is  given.  S.7795  and  identical  H.21021  were 
offered   in   response  to  this  resolution. 

Senate.  Printing  Committee.  Economies  in  govern- 
ment printing  and  use  of  print  paper ;  report  pursuant 


Bibliography  of  Printing  Investigation        271 

to  S.  res.  290  and  to  accompany  S.7795  [to  amend  and 
revise  the  laws  relating  to  the  printing  and  binding  and 
distribution  of  publications  for  Congress].  Jan.  11,  1917. 
45  p.  (S.  Report  910,  64th  Cong.,  2d  sess.) 

See  Cong.  Record,  64tli  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate;  Feb.  6,  ^917; 
V.  54:  [unbound]  p.  2879,  298J.  Text  of  bill  given  [unbound] 
p.  2880.     Identical  House  bill  is  II. 21021. 


Ill 

Bibliography  of  Laws 

Note. —  This  list  is  given  as  an  attempt  at  a  historical  record.  For  legal 
use  the  laws  in  force  at  date  will  be  found  in  the  two  standard  compilations, 
the  Federal  Statutes  Annotated;  and  the  United  States  Cominled  Statutes. 

See,  for  compilations  in  print  of  all  laws  to  end  of  1909,  Checklist; 
GP1.2:  L44;  also  GP3.2:  P93.  The  report  by  Ames,  SpofTord,  and  Baird, 
188.2,  p.  35-57,  gives  laws  in  detail  for  eacli  publication.  Other  printed  com- 
pilations for  limited  periods  will  be  found  in  the  successive  Document  Cata- 
logs. Bibliographies  of  laws  were  given  as  part  of  the  report  of  the  A.  L.  A. 
documents  committee  in  1905  (Lib.  Jour.,  30:  C92-C93)  and  1906  (Lib. 
Jour.,   31 :  141). 

Omitted  are  statutes  affecting  only  one  publication,  single  or  series,  and 
any  purely   temporary   in  character. 

See  also,  beyond,  laws  relating  to  depository  libraries. 

Jan.  12,  1895.     53d  Congress.     Stat.  L.  28:601-624. 

General  law  which  established  Documents  Ofifice  and  present  sys- 
tem.    Summarized   m   Library  Journal,   20:  13-20,    1895. 

Mar.  2,  1895.  53d  Congress.  Stat.  L.  28:962.  Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Restricts  printing  of  hearings  and  other  publications  of  committees 
to  $500.  When  no  Joint  Committee  on  Printing  is  in  existence  its 
duties  are  to  be  performed  by  the  committee  then  in  existence  of 
either  house. 

Note. —  The  Senate  rules  continue  the  members  of  its  printing 
committee  in  office  till  their  successors  are  appointed.  The  House 
committe  expires  with  the   Congress. 

U.  S.  Documents  Office.  First  draft  of  proposed  bill  to  .  .  . 
simplify  the  methods  of  publication  of  public  documents. 
1896. 

Printed  and  distributed  by  the  first  superintendent  of  documents, 
F.  A.  Crandall,  to  arouse  interest  in  and  support  for  proposed  re- 
forms. Many  of  the  reforms  have  been  adopted,  but  this  bill  never 
became  a  law.     Summarized  in  Lib.  Jour.,  21:  102-105. 

Feb.  6,  1896.    54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29:463. 

Gives  State  Department  20  copies  of  each  Congressional  Document 
and  Report,  and   10  copies  of  every  bill  and  resolution. 

Feb.  26,  1896.    54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29 :  465. 

Extends  provisions  of  sec.  79  of  printing  act  for  distribution  to 
geological  depository  libraries  so  as  to  include  also  future  publications. 

Mar.  19,  1896.    54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29 :  468. 

Increases  by  10  each  the  number  of  copies  of  Congressional  Record 
to   Senate  and   House  libraries. 

June  II,  1896.  54th  Congress.  Stat.  L.  29:454.  Sundry  civil 
appropriation  act. 

272 


Bibliography  of  Laws  273 

Repeals  par.  46,  sec.  73,  of  printing  act,  furnishing  Congressional 
Record  to  8  public  or  school  libraries. 

Feb.  17,  1897.    54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29 :  700. 

To  furnish  daily  Congressional  Record  to  newspaper  correspondents 
in  Washington. 

Feb.  18,  1897.     54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29:701. 

The  Geological  survey  to  give  500  copies  of  geological  and  topo- 
graphical maps  and  atlases  to  foreign  and  national  government  bodies, 
learned  associations  and  libraries;  one  copy  of  each  to  be  sent  to 
each  senator  and  representative,  and  a  second  copy  be  at  his  disposal. 

Mar.  IS,  1898.    55th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  30:316. 

Secretary  of  state  to  deliver  to  superintendent  of  documents  Re- 
vised Statutes  and  its  supplements,  Session  Laws,  and  Statutes  at 
Large,  to  be  sold  by  him. 

Jan.  28,  1899.    55th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  30:  1388. 

To  furnish  6  copies  of  Congressional  Record  to  Library  of  Con- 
gress. 

Mar.  26,  1900.    56th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  31 :  713. 

Amends  law  of  Feb.  17,  1897,  by  providing  also  bound  Congressional 
Record  to  press  correspondents. 

Mar.  2,  1901.    56th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  31 :  1464. 

Regulates  number  of  copies  to  Library  of  Congress  of  government 
publications  for  its  own  use  and  international  exchanges. 

Mar.  7,  1902.     57th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  ^2:  1765. 

The  superintendent  of  documents  to  issue  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Senate  and  the  clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives  government  pub- 
lications needed  by  them. 

June  30,  1902.    S7th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  ^2 :  746. 

Documents  reserved  for  binding  on  orders  of  senators,  representa- 
tives, and  officers  of  Congress,  as  provided  by  sec.  54,  par.  6,  of 
printing  act,  not  called  for  after  two  years  to  be  bound  and  deliv- 
ered  to   superintendent   of   documents   for   distribution   to   libraries. 

July  I,  1902.     S7th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  32 :  631. 

Each  senator  and  representative  to  receive  one  copy  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  and  supplements. 

Jan.  30,  1903.     57th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  2>2'-  786. 

Doubles  number  of  copies  of  Congressional  Record  to  members  and 
officials  of  Senate  and  House  and  adds  Labor  Department  and  Civil 
Service  Commission  to  bodies  receiving  it. 

Mar.  3,  1903.  57th  Congress.  Stat.  L.  32:  1146. 

Geological  Survey  surplus  publications  for  sale  in  stock  after  five 
years  in  excess  of  a  reserve  of  200  copies  may  be  distributed  to 
public  libraries. 

Mar.  28,  1904.    58th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  :i2  '■  584- 

Authorizes  superintendent  of  documents  to  reprint  publications  of 
any  department  needed  for  sale,  if  approved  by  publishing  department. 

Apr.  6,  1904.    58th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  33 :  159-160. 

To  amend  Stat.  L.  28,  chap.  23,  sec.  68,  to  include  sergeant  at 
arms  of  House  to  receive  quota  of  documents. 

Apr.  28,  1904.    58th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  ^^ :  542. 

Amends  printing  act  as  to  allotment  of  laws  and  Official  Register. 


274  Bibliography  of  Laws 

Jan.  JO,  1905.     58th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  33:610-611. 

Amends  printing  act,  sec.  54-55.  Discontinues  printing  "  usual 
number  "  of  Keports  on  private  bills  and  on  simple  and  concurrent 
resolutions,  and  reduces  edition  of  private  bills  and  resolutions  and 
of  simple  and  concurrent  resolutions.!  "  Bills  and  resolutions  .  .  . 
unless  specially  ordered  .  .  .  shall  only  be  printed  when  referred  to 
a  committee,  when  favorably  reported  back,  and  after  their  passage 
by  either  house." 

Mar.  3,  1905.     58th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  33:  1249.     Deficiencies  ap- 
propriation act. 

I'rohibits  any  department  from  printing  any  matter  not  germane 
to  its  business  without  authorization  by  Congress.  Illustrations  not 
to  be  included  in  order  to  print  unless  certified  as  necessary  or  spe- 
cifically   ordered.     Creates    Printing    Investigation    Commission. 

Mar.  30,  1906.     S9th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34 :  825-826.     Public  res. 
13- 

Original  costs,  i.  e.,  composition,  stereotyping,  illustrations,  etc.,  of 
publications  to  be  charged  to  government  body  issuing  them;  other 
costs,  for  such  publications  as  are  included  in  the  Documents  of 
Congress,  to  be  charged  pro  rata  to  issuing  body  and  to  Congress, 
according  to  number  of  copies  used  by  each.  Introduced  by  the 
Printing  Investigation  Commission. 

Mar.  30,  1906.     59th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34 :  826.     Public  res.  14. 

Publications  of  Congress  and  of  other  government  bodies  may  be 
printed  in  two  or  more  editions  up  to  authorized  limit  in  number 
under  regulations  to  be  established  by  Printing  Joint  Committee. 
Introduced   by    the    Printing    Investigation    Commission. 

June   30,    1906.     59th    Congress.     Stat.    L.    34:762.     Sundry   civil 
appropriation  act. 

Annual  estimates  for  printing  and  binding  for  each  government 
body  to  be  submitted  and  no  other  appropriation  to  be  used  for  such 
purpose.     Continues   Printing  Investigation   Commission. 

Mar.  I,  1907.     59th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34:  1012-1015. 

Permits  secretary  of  Senate  and  clerk  of  House  to  order  reprints 
of  bills,  resolutions,  laws,  or  Reports  of  committees  or  commissions. 
Hearings  or  other  publications  of  committees  restricted  to  i,ooo  copies. 
Copies  extra  to  "  usual  number  "  and  other  printing,  how  ordered  and 
charged.  As  to  stationery,  blank  books,  binding,  etc.,  for  members  of 
Congress.  [Amendments  and  additions  to  sec.  2  of  printing  act] 
Department  publications  not  to  be  included  in  Documents  or  Reports 
series  of  either  house.  How  publications  for  depository  libraries 
shall  be  made  into  volumes  and  bound.  Number  of  copies  printed 
for  depositories  to  be  according  to  number  of  depositories.  Docu- 
ments Office  to  be  specifically  appropriated  for.  Authority  to  print, 
except  as  authorized  by  Joint  Committee  on  Printing,  to  lapse  after 
two  years.  [Amendments  and  additions  to  sec.  81  of  printing  act.] 
Sec.  59,  81,  and  99  of  printing  act,  and  amendment  of  Mar.  2,  1895, 
repealed.     Introduced    by    the    Printing    Investigation    Commission. 

Mar.  4,  1907.     59th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34 :  1394.     Deficiencies  ap- 
propriation act. 

Continues  Printing  Investigation  Commission  and  enlarges  its  scope. 
1  See,   for   table   showing   printing   and    distribution    under  this   act,    U.    S. 
Printing  investigation  commission,  Report,  1906,  v.  i:  100. 


Bibliography  of  Laws  275 

Jan.  15,  1908.     60th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  35 :  565-566. 

Department  annuals  and  serials,  required,  by  law  of  Mar.  i,  1907, 
not  to  be  included  in  Documents  or  Reports  series  of  eitner  bouse, 
to  be,  in  copies  delivered  to  members  and  officials  of  Congress,  in- 
cluded in  these  series.  A  "  library  edition  "  to  be  sent  to  depository 
libraries,  which  shall  be  arranged  in  volumes  and  bound  as  directed 
by  the  Joint  Committee  on  Printing.  The  departmental  edition  to  be 
printed  concurrently  with  the  "  usual  number."  Hearings  of  com- 
mittees to  be  printed  as  Congressional  Documents  only  when  spe- 
cifically ordered. 

See    Monthly    Catalog,    Jan.,    1908:    Notes. 

May  27,  1908.     60th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  35  :  384.     Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Repeals  sec.  3  of  act  of  Mar.  i,  1907,  requiring  the  Documents 
Office  to  be  specifically  appropriated  for. 

Mar.  2,  1909.  60th  Congress.  Stat.  L.  35:  1168. 

Members  of  6oth  Congress  to  receive  all  publications  ordered 
printed  by  that  Congress  and  published  prior  to  Dec.   6,  1909. 

Mar.  4,  1909.    60th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  35 :  937,    Deficiencies  ap- 
propriation act. 

Continues  Printing  Investigation  Commission  during  6ist  Congress. 

Mar.  4,  1909.    60th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  35 :  1067. 

Congressional  Record  and  bills,  resolutions,  and  other  documents 
to  be  furnished  to  governor  general  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Apr.  23,  1909.    6ist  Congress.     Stat.  L.  36:  182. 
Repeals  resolution  of  Mar.   2,    1909. 

June  25,  1910.     6ist  Congress.     Stat.  L.  36:868. 

Repeals  part  of  sec.  54  of  printing  act,  as  amended  by  resolution 
of  Tune  30,  1902,  so  that  document  reserve  for  members  and  of- 
ficials of  Congress  shall  not  be  printed.  Each  senator  and  repre- 
sentative may  have  one  copy  bound  of  every  public  document  to 
which  he  is  entitled.  Recommended  by  the  Printing  Investigation 
Commission. 

See  Monthly  Catalog,  Apr.,   1910,  Notes;  also  Lib.  Jour.,  28:Ci02. 

Mar.  3,  1911.    6ist  Congress.     Stat.  L.  36:1153-1156.     Judiciary 

act. 

Regulates  distribution  of  Supreme  Court  reports.  Federal  Reporter 
and   its  digests. 

Mar.  4,  191 1.     61  St  Congress.     Stat.  L.  36:  1444.     Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Continues  Printing  Investigation  Commission  until  end  of  62d 
Congress   [Mar.   4,   1913^- 

Mar.  4,  191 1.    6ist  Congress.     Stat.  L.  36:  1446.     Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Unpaid  bills  for  printing  speeches,  etc.,  to  be  deducted  from  sala- 
ries of   senators  and   representatives. 

Aug.  23,  1912.     62d  Congress.     Stat.  L.  Z7  '•  4I4-     Legislative,  etc., 
appropriation  act. 

Provides  that  "  addressing,  wrapping,  mailing,  and  otherwise  dis- 
patching publications  for  the  departments "  shall  be  done  in  the 
Documents  Office. 


276  Bibliography  of  Laws 

Aug.  24,  1912.  62d  Congress.  Stat.  L.  ^y.  Sundry  civil  appro- 
priation act. 

Requires  submission  to  Congress,  with  estimates  of  appropriations 
needed,  of  detailed  statement  of  employes,  salaries,  and  of  other  ex- 
penditures under  appropriations  Lp.  487].  Printing  of  bonds,  etc.,  in 
the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing,  to  be  on  power  presses  [p. 
430].  Abolishes  collected  form  of  Speciiications  and  Drawings  of 
Patents   [p.  481]. 

June  22,,  1913.  63d  Congress.  Stat.  L.  38:73.  Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Printing  committee  of  either  house,  when  it  recommends  printing 
and  binding  for  Congress,  shall  submit  estimate  of  cost  and  estimated 
cost  of   printing  previously   ordered   in  that  fiscal  year. 

July  I,  1916.  64th  Congress.  Stat.  L.  39:83.  Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Sets  dates  when  copy,  revised  proof,  and  printed  copies  of  annual 
reports  and  accompanying  documents  shall  be  furnished,  or  printing 
appropriations  may  not  be  used.     Three  reports  specifically  excepted. 

U.  S.  Cong.  Printing  Joint  Committee.  Printing  bill;  compara- 
tive print  shov^fing  H.  R.  8664,  as  reported  to  the  House 
Jan.  II,  1916,  with  H.  R.  15902,  as  passed  the  House  and 
reported  to  the  Senate  in  the  63d  Congress,  and  the  present 
printing  laws.  Printed  for  the  Joint  Committee  on  Print- 
ing. 1916.  11,121  leaves,  oblong  large  8°.  (64th  Cong., 
1st  sess.     Comparative  print.) 

Cover  title.  H.8664,  H.  15902,  and  present  laws  respectively  in 
three  parallel  columns.  Leaves  I-II:  "Corresponding  sections  in 
old  bill  (H.  R.  15902,  63d  Cong.)  and  in  new  bill  (H.  R.  8664,  64th 
Cong.)." 

Depositories 

U.  S.  Revised  Statutes,  Chapter  7,  sec.  497-511,  p.  82-85;  also 
supplements. 

Contain  all  the  unrepealed  laws  to  dates  of  volumes.  Also  these 
can  be  obtained  in  the  Federal  Statutes  Annotated,  and  in  the  United 
States  Compiled  Statutes. 

Documents  Office.     Report,  1907,  p.  38-44. 

Gives  resume  of  laws  relating  to  depositories,  with  discussion. 

Official  list  of  depository  libraries  ...  to  Jan.  i,  1909. 

(Bulletin  12.) 

Gives   resume   of   legislation   for   depository   libraries. 

Depository    libraries.     July    15,    1913.    4    p.     (Circular 

22;  2d  rev.  ed.) 

General  facts  about  depository  libraries,  with  summary  of  legis- 
lation. 

Dec.  27,  1813.     13th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  3:  140-141. 

Makes  operative  "  for  every  future  Congress  "  free  distribution  of 
Journals  of  Congress  and  various  other  publications  to  executives  and 
each   branch   of  legislatures   of  states  and  territories;  to  colleges  and 


7 


P' 


Bibliography  of  Laws  277 

incorporated  historical  societies;  as  provided  in  various  separate  prior 
acts.  200  copies  in  addition  to  the  usual  number  to  be  printed  for 
distribution. 

Dec.  I,  1814.     13th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  3 :  248. 

Gives  to  American  Antiijuarian  Society  at  Worcester  Senate  and 
House  Journals  and  Documents  "  which  have  been  or  shall  be  pub- 
lished." 

July  20,  1840.     26th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  5  :  409. 

Apr.  30,  1844.    28th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  5:717. 

Increase  to  300  the  number  of  extra  copies  to  be  printed  for 
distribution. 

Jan.  28,  1857.     34th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  11:253. 
Mar.  20,  1858.     35th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  11:368.     Amends  pre- 
ceding. 

These  acts  are  "  real  basis  of  the  institution  of  depositories."  The 
publications  which  heretofore  had  been  distributed  by  the  Library 
of  Congress  and  Department  of  State,  are  now  to  be  distributed  by 
the  Interior  Department  to  institutions  to  be  designated  by  repre- 
sentatives and   delegates   for  their   several  districts. 

Feb.  5,  1859.     35th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  11:380. 

Gives  to  Interior  Department  the  receiving,  keeping,  and  distributing 
of  all  publications,  including  accumulations,  except  those  given  to 
Congress  or  departments  direct.  Amends  act  of  1857  by  adding 
senators  to  designate  depositories. 

Mar.  2,  1861.     36th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  12:244. 

Long  act  summarizing  laws  in  force.  Permits  Interior  Department 
to  make  selection  of  libraries  to  receive  publications  of  which  the 
edition  would  not  supply  all  libraries.  State  and  territorial  libraries 
are  not  named  in  any  law  prior  to  1895,  and  distribution  to  them 
presumably  began  many  years  previously  under  this  power.  Deposi- 
tories can  not  be  changed  except  at  beginning  of  a  Congress  or  for 
failure   to  meet   requirements. 

Mar.  3,  1887.     49th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  24 :  647. 

Establishes   geological    survey    depositories. 

T7  Jan.  12,  1895.    53d  Congress.     Stat.  L.  28:601-624. 

Main  law  on  which  is  based  the  present  system  of  depositories. 
Creates  special  depositories  to  receive  the  Official  Gazette  of  the 
Patent  Office  [sec.  7i\.  Creates  duplicate  set  of  geological  depository 
libraries  to  receive  publications  prior  to   1894   [p.  621]. 

Feb.  26,  1896.    54th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  29 :  465. 

Makes  permanent,  and  to  receive  publications  of  1894  and  after, 
duplicate   set   of  geological   depository  libraries. 

June  6,  1900.     s6th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  31  :  ZiZ-     Alaska  civil  gov- 
ernment act. 

Makes  Historical   Library  and  Museum  of  Alaska  a  depository. 

Jan.  18,  1907.    59th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34:850. 

Makes  library  of  Philippine  Islands  government  at  Manila  a  de- 
pository. 

Mar.  I,  1907.     59th  Congress.     Stat.  L.  34:  1014. 

Adds   land   grant   colleges   to    depository    libraries.     Assigns   certain 


278  Bibliography  of  Laws 

depositories,   found,   after  rcdistricting,  in   other  than  original  district, 
to   new   district. 
June  23,  1913.     63d  Congress.     Stat.  L.  38:80.     Sundry  civil  ap- 
propriation act. 

Makes  all   existing   designations  of  depositories  permanent. 


IV 

The  Librarians  on  the  National  Publications: 

Articles  in  the  Library  Journal,  the  A.  L.  A. 

Proceedings,  and  Public  Libraries 

Note. —  Reviews  of  individual  works  are  noted  with  the  works,  not  here. 
The  report  of  the  documents  committee  of  the  American  Library  Association, 
if  any,  is  put  first  in  the  contents  analysis  of  each  volume  below.  An 
asterisk  calls  attention  to  certain  articles  of  special  interest  in  regard  to 
points  emphasized  in   this  work  or   otherwise  helpful. 

Library  journal 

Library  Journal  i,  1876/7  :  lo-ii  (Dewey;  value,  wasteful  distri- 
tion,  etc.)  :  177  (editorial;  reform  in  distribution  and 
indexes  needed). 

2,  1877/8  :  *26-28  (Spofford;  distribution  evils;  discussion). 

3,  1878  :  II   (editorial;  notice  of  bill)      -.32  (Hoar's  bill;  dis- 

tribution through  Interior  Dept.). 

4,  1879  :  195,    291     (Green,    Spofford,   Homes,    committee,    to 

draft  bill  for  distribution)      :  81-83    (Axon;   Distribu- 
tion   of    British    documents    as    example    for    United 
States)      :84-85   (editorial  comment  on  Axon). 
First  committee  report  on  government  publications. 

5.1880  187  (note  on  index  to  Journals  of  Congress  being' 
prepared  by  Alb.  Ordway;  discussion  of  indexing). 

6.1881  :  86-89  (Green,  chmn. ;  report;  presents  two  bills) 
:  *I30-I3i  (discussion;  Dewey,  resolution  covering  re- 
forms wanted)  :  313  (editorial ;  describes  bills)  :  314 
(exec,  board  approves  bills). 

7. 1882  :  195,  226-228  (Green,  chmn.;  report). 

8.1883  1257-260,  291  (Green,  chmn.;  report,  includes  petition 
to    Congress)      :  107    (Ames;    binding    reform   urged) 

:  150-15 1    (progress   on   Poore's   cat.)      1250-251    (Ed- 
mands;  plan  for  shelf  numbering  of  Congressional  set). 

9. 1884  :  No  committee  report  :  140  (Boston  Literary  World; 
Plea  for  index  to  govt,  publications,  federal,  etc.). 

10,1885  :  *335-336  (Green,  chmn.;  progress  report;  asks  for 
everything  published  for  large  libraries,  selected  publi- 
cations   for    smaller    libraries)      :  *236-24i     (Bowker; 
historical  and  descriptive,  includes  lists  and  indexes  and 
279 


28o  Articles  in  the  Library  Journal 

touches  on  distribution)      :  241-244   (McKee;  explains 
numbering  and  methods  of  publication). 

11,1886:377-378  (Green,  chmn. ;  report)  :  482  (resolution 
and  letter  by  committee  to  Senate  printing  committee) 
:  19  (Nation  on  Interior  Dept.  becoming  clearing 
house)  :  20-24  (Singleton  bill  nearly  in  full)  130 
(Cutter;  catalog  entry)  178  (Henderson  bill  to  dis- 
tribute Congressional  Record  and  Statutes  to  libraries, 
etc.)  1376  (resolution  of  thanks  to  J.  G.  Ames)  :  3, 
35,  99  (editorials,  the  last  on  Hickcox's  catalogs). 

12,1887  1445-447  (Green,  chmn.;  report,  incl.  letters  from  J. 
G.  Ames)  :  135  (summary  of  Ames's  report)  :  161 
(Hickcox's  catalog)  :  447-448  (indexes,  especially  on 
patents). 

13,1888:  No  report.  :  131-132  (editorial:  progress  and 
Ames's  report)  :  143-144  (summary  of  Ames's  report 
dated  Mar.  27,  '88). 

14,1889:267-269  (Green,  chmn.;  report)  :  275-276  (Beer; 
bibliography  needed)  :  *432  (Schwartz;  bad  publica- 
tion methods)  :  431  (editorial  corroborating  Schwartz) 
:  487  (Cornell  Univ.  Bull.,  Nov.,  '89;  gives  arrangement 
under  countries  in  card  catalog). 

15, 1890:  C95-C100  (Green;  Fletcher;  committee  report) 
:  C104-C105,  C116  (discussion)  :  *I2  (Dunn)  :  12-14 
(Ames)      :  209  (distribution). 

l6>i89i :  C70-C73,  C118-C120  (Bowker,  chmn.;  *special  re- 
port); C73-C74  (discussion)  :  107  (Merrill;  catalog- 
ing). 

17.1892  :  C38-C39,  C7S-C80  (Bowker,  chmn.;  report)  :  C57, 
C77-C80  (discussion)  :8-i7  (text  of  bill)  :  46-47 
(Dunn;  protest)  153-54  (amendments)  :  84  (bill  for 
free  mailing)  C61-C62  (Cheney;  shelf  notation  in  San 
Francisco  library)  :  107  (Merrill;  same  at  Miami  uni- 
versity) :  123-124  (circular  urging  support  for  bill) 
:  124  (bill  for  supply  to  libraries)  :  165  (progress  of 
bill)      :3,  43,  477  (editorials). 

18. 1893  :  C52-C53  (Dunn,  chmn. ;  reports  disagreement) 
:  C72-C74  (Ames)  :  86-87  (resolution)  :  507-508 
(summary;  letter  of  Dunn  on  amendments)  :  3,  35, 
497  (editorials  on  progress  of  bill)  :  228  (editorial  on 
Hickcox's  catalog). 

19. 1894  :  C126-C128  (Bowker,  chmn.;  report  of  progress) 
:  C128-C134  (discussion;  letter  from  Ames)  :  C164- 
C165     (resolution)      :  95     (Minn,    library    association) 


Articles  in  the  Library  Journal  281 

1263-264  (Morse  on  distribution;  from  Pop.  Sci.  Mo., 
Aug.,  '94)      :4i,  119,  255,  288  (editorials). 

20,  1895  :  C53-CS4  (Bovvker,  chmn. ;  report)  :  26-27,  5^-57 
(review  of  Ames's  index,  and  of  2  reports,  1894)  •  ^3~ 
20  (summary  of  bill,  i.  e.,  law  of  Jan.  20,  1895)  :  C78- 
C79  (Ames  on  bill)  :  3,  43,  75  (editorials)  1197 
(editorial  on  Crandall's  beginning  work)  :  301  (edi- 
torial;  first  Monthly  Catalog). 

21, 1896  :  C79-C80  (Bowker,  chmn. ;  report,  cooperation  with 
Crandain  :  C20-C25  (Crandall;  address)  :4ii-4i2 
(proceedings  when  report  and  address  were  made) 
:  19-20  (Docs.  Office,  annual  report,  reviewed)  :  74 
(Checklist,  2d  edition,  reviewed)  *:  102-105  (sum- 
mary of  Crandall's  proposed  bill ;  reprints  Bowker's 
special  report,  1891)  *:  217-218  (Cutter;  ideal  is  that 
any  library  shall  have  any  document  free)  :  225  (para- 
graph on  progress)  '■  2;i,7  (Hasse;  instance  of  bad 
methods)      :  91,  215   (editorials). 

22,  1897  :  C97-C98    (Bowker,    chmn.;    report)      :  4-5    (edito- 

rial) :  16-17  (Hickcox;  104  serial,  technical,  and  sci- 
entific publications  of  the  government  not  Congres- 
sional Documents)  :  43  (Doc.  Cat,  1893/95,  reviewed) 
:  75  (editorial;  Crandall's  bill,  and  bill  to  extend  Ames's 
index)  :  91  (Documents  Office,  report,  1895/96,  re- 
viewed) :  143  (progress)  :  *i6o  (Washington  Post, 
Feb.  23,  1897,  against,  and  Crandall's  reply,  Feb.  25,  sup- 
porting bill  "  taking  the  executive  reports  and  serial 
works  out  of  the  numbered  series  of  the  Congressional 
Documents")  :  270  (Doc.  Index,  54th,  ist,  reviewed) 
:  C154  (resolution  endorsing  work  of  Docs.  Office 
under  Crandall)  :  735-736  (editorial  on  demotion  of 
Crandall)  :  747  (resolution  against  demotion  of  Cran- 
dall)     :  770  (Doc.  Index,  54th,  2d,  reviewed). 

23,  1898  :  C117-C120  (Bowker,  chmn.;  Lodge's  resolution  for 

transfer  of  Docs.  Office  to  Library  of  Congress  de- 
feated; demotion  of  Crandall,  etc.)  :  C121,  C127-C128 
(resolution  favoring  transfer;  discussion;  Ferrell's  ad- 
dress) :  3-4  (editorial;  touches  on  transfer)  :  21 
(progress  of  Lodge's  and  Crandall's  bills)  :  47-48 
(editorial;  Lodge's  bill)  :  64  (resolution  favoring 
transfer)  :  197  (examination  for  supt.  of  docs,  an- 
nounced) :  214  (Oberlin  college;  cataloging  of  execu- 
tive reports  in  serial  set)  :  562,  669-670  (editorial, 
and  article  from  Nation  on  private  reprint  for  sale  of 


282  Articles  in  the  Library  Journal 

Messages  of  the  Presidents)      :  564-566  (Fuller;  U.  S., 
state,  and  town  docs,  in  small  libraries). 

24.1899  :  Cicx)-Cio2  (Bowker,  chmn. ;  report;  only  Cioo  on 
U.  S.  documents)  14  (editorial)  :  16-17  (Docs.  Of- 
fice, report,  1897/98,  reviewed)  :  197  (plea  for  cata- 
loging) :  608  (bad  distribution)  :  659  (editorial  on 
bill). 

25.1900  :  C91-C92  (Bowker,  chmn.;  resume  of  events;  reso- 
lution) :  56  (suggests  reprinting  early  docs.)  1*65- 
67  (summary  of  bill,  wbicji  takes  executive  pul)lications 
out  from  Congressional  set)  :  293  (resolution  ap- 
proved)     :  55,  103  (editorials  on  bill). 

26,  1901  :  C118-C119  (Bowker,  chmn.;  report)  :Cii9-Ci20 
(discussion)  14,  21  (editorials  on  bill)  *:8-i3 
(Hasse;  before  Nat.  Assoc,  of  State  Librarians)  :  20- 
21  (Docs.  Office,  report,  1899/1900,  reviewed)  :  62 
(name  nide.x  to  pub.  docs,  wanted)  :  *I52-I54  (Mann; 
Univ.  of  Illinois  library  school  course  in  govt,  docs.) 
■359  ("Index  and  review,"  notice)  * :  397  (Chapin; 
Decimal  classification  in  cataloging  pub.  docs.)  :  C119- 
C120  (work  of  Ferrell  reviewed)  :  671-674  (Ferrell; 
The  pub.  docs. ;  descriptive ;  plea  against  inclusion  of 
department  publications  in  Congressional  set)  1689- 
690  (Post;  "Tables  and  Index"  announced)  :  820 
(course  in  pub.  docs,  at  Wise,  summer  school  an- 
nounced)     :  849-850  (editorial  on  legislation  needed). 

27.1902  ;  C92-C96  (Falkner,  chmn.;  report;  asks  for  a 
"library  edition"  of  dept.  publications)  :  C130  (dis- 
cussion) :  21-22  (Docs.  Office,  report,  1900/01,  re- 
viewed ;  plea  for  exclusion  of  department  publications 
from  Congressional  set)  :  107  (Fichtenkam,  catalog- 
ing pub.  docs.,  from  "Index  and  Review,"  noticed) 
:  120  (Gerould;  wants  Library  of  Congress  to  catalog 
pub.  docs.)  :  149  (Wise,  course  in  pub.  docs.,  1902) 
:  207  (care  of  pub.  docs.,  Wisconsin)  *:  815-818,  825 
(Hasse;  Vexed  question  of  pub.  docs.;  discussion) 
1832  (Wyer,  chmn.  docs,  committee.  Western  library 
assoc,  4  requests)  :  893  (betterments  wanted  by  N.  Y. 
Library  Assoc.)  :  936-938  (Ferrell's  answer  to  4  re- 
quests) *:  938-939  (Crandall;  Catalog  entry  of  govt, 
authors)  :  1013  (Roosevelt;  pub.  docs.,  from  message, 
1902). 

28.1903  :  C102-C106,  C133  (Falkner.  chmn.;  report;  resolu- 
tion calls  for  "  library  edition "  of  dept.  publications) 
* :  69  (catalog  entry  of  government  authors;  Jones  vs. 


Articles  in  the  Library  Journal  283 

Crandall)  *  :  C176-C189  (same;  discussion;  paper  by 
Hasse;  decision  favoring  inverted  form)  :  117-118, 
832-833  (Docs.  Office,  reports,  1901/02,  1902/03,  re- 
viewed) :  774-776  (Falkner,  list  of  bibliographies  pub- 
lished in  official  documents  of  the  United  States,  May, 
1902-Apr.,  1903). 

29. 1904  :  C168-C169  (Falkner,  chmn. ;  report;  resume  of 
legislation  and  bibliographical  material)  *:ii6-i20 
(Hasse;  on  a  bibliography  of  pub.  docs.)  :  207  (de- 
scription of  Docs.  Office  printed  catalog  cards)  * :  475 
(Bliss;  catalog  entry  for  govt,  authors)  .-597  (list  of 
publications  of  Docs.  Office). 

30.1905  :  C92-C101  (Hasse,  chmn.;  report;  includes  legisla- 
lation,  instruction  in  library  schools,  new  docs.,  bibli- 
ographies, and  foreign  docs.)      :  182,  200  (Watson  and 

Koch ;  want  more  than  one  card  per  title  from  Docs. 
Office)  1291,  864  (foreign  docs,  committee  consoli- 
dated with  pub.  docs,  committee ;  functions  of  commit- 
tee) :  C86-C91  (Ambrose;  Uses  of  govt.  docs,  in  the 
university  library)  :  930-931  (Daniels;  agricultural 
bulletins,  indexes  and  value)  :  951-952  (Kansas  City 
public  library  arranges  department  reports  by  subject; 
etc.;  :  174,  954-955  (Docs.  Office,  reports,  1903/04, 
1904/05,  reviewed). 
31,  1906:  C140-C145  (Hasse,  chmn.;  report;  mostly  about 
state  and  foreign  documents)  :  C219-C220,  C279, 
C281  (wanted,  opportunity  for  discussion)  :  661- 
665  (Hasse;  building  up  a  pub.  doc.  collection)  :  317- 
318  (Clarke;  protest  against  change  in  Monthly  Catalog 
to  be  alphabetical). 

Page  661-665  same  as  in  Public  Libraries,  12:48-51,  except 
sample  cards  omitted  in  latter. 

Note. —  Beginning  1907  Papers  and  proceedings  of  A.  L.  A. 
are  published  complete  in  separate  form,  and  reports  of  docs, 
committee  no  longer  appear  in  the  Library  Journal  except  as 
special  contributions. 

^2, 1907  :  97  ( Hasse  ;  cataloging ;  geographical  and  political 
divisions  of  different  territory  but  same  name)  :  120 
(pub.  docs,  committee  invites  questions)  :  194  (edi- 
torial on  methods)  :  195-198  (C.  W.  Smith;  pub.  docs, 
as  a  library  resource)  *:  203-206  (Crandall;  library  of 
Docs.  Office  described)  *:  207-208  (Burns;  law  of 
Mar.  I,  1907,  takes  department  publications  out  from 
Congressional  set.  "  a  reform  sought  for  many  years  ") 
1245-246,  269  (pub.  docs,  at  A.  L.  A.  meeting)  :  350 
(editorial)      :  361      (Merrill;      utilizing     govt,     docs.) 


284  Articles  in  the  Library  Journal 

:  473-474   (Monthly  Cat.,  July,   1907,  alplialjctical   form 
and  past  issues  reviewed). 

33,1908:98  (Docs.  Office,  report,  1906/07,  reviewed)  :  150- 
151  (libraries  of  a  certain  grade  sliould  be  depositories, 
not  such  as  are  designated  by  members  of  Congress) 
* :  200  (VVyer;  Docs.  Office,  Author  Headings,  ed.  2, 
change  to  "Education  Bureau"  disapproved)  * :  227 
(Post;  reply)      :  302  (restriction  on  loaning  modified). 

34,1909  :  43-48  (Post;  "most  essential  reform  is  decrease  in 
distributing  agencies  ")  :  91  (Ballard  ;  verses)  *  :  538- 
545  (Post;  outline  for  a  working  collection  and  aids  to 
its  use). 

Post's   address   abridged,    and    Ballard's   verses    in    Public    Li- 
braries,  14:  49-51. 

35, 1910:  283  (Des  Moines  library  segregates,  but  indexes  pub. 
docs.)  * :  328  (Godard,  chmn. ;  pub.  docs,  commit- 
tee; resolution  for  exclusion  of  department  publications 
from  Congressional  set)  :  503-505  (Macdonald;  use  in 
small  libraries). 

36.1911  :  270,  384  (summaries  of  bill)  :  385  (Economy  and 
Efficiency  Commission  on  distribution;  etc.)  :  425-426 
(Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round  table  meeting). 

37.1912  -.y],  442  (resolutions  favoring  bill)  :  270  (Harris; 
describes  printing  bill)  *:  370-376  CMattern;  national 
and  international  cooperation  in  .  .  .  analytical  catalog- 
ing [incl.  national  publications])  1384  (analysis  of 
bill)  :  385  (Economy  and  Efficiency  Commission;  re- 
port on  centralization  of  distribution)  :  446  (Godard, 
chmn.;  docs,  round  table  meeting)  :  455  (pub.  docs, 
committee,  its  work  [one  paragraph])  -.504-506  (Rei- 
nick;  trials  of  a  document  librarian). 

Resolutions    favoring   bill    same   as    in    A.    L.    A.    Papers   and 
proceedings,    1912,  p.   200-201. 

38,1913:8-9  (Walter;  pub.  docs,  as  reference  material) 
:  402-403  (Luard;  use  in  small  library)  :  523-524 
(Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round  table  meeting). 
39, 1914  :  129-130  (resolution  for  contents  table  to  Cong. 
Record)  1207-209  (Reinick;  pub.  docs,  as  commer- 
cial factor)  :  297-298  (Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round 
table  meeting)  :  305  (Steiner;  asks  to  have  sold  by 
book  dealers)  :ZZ^  (Pomona  college  library;  treat- 
ment in  non-depository  libraries)  :  577,  802  (editorials 
on  bill)  *:  815-823  (Carter:  resume  of  bill)  :  936 
(pub.  docs,  in  a  small  library;  from  Iowa  Library 
Quarterly). 


Articles  in  the  A.  L.  A.  Proceedings         285 

40,1915  -.421  (Docs.  Office,  report,  1913/14,  reviewed)  1493 
(.resolutions)  1595  (Godard,  chmn. ;  docs,  round  ta- 
ble meeting). 

Documents  round  table  meeting  same  as  in  A.   L.  A.  Papers 
and  proceedings. 

41,1916:401-402  (Hasse;  course  on  United  States  foreign 
relations  and  government  docs.)  :  601-602  (Godard, 
chmn. ;  docs,  round  table  meeting ;  "^  Clarke ;  better- 
ments needed)  :  632  (editorial  on  printing  bill) 
*  1664-674  (Carter;  printing  bill)  -.675  (Bowker;  re- 
print of  report  of  1891  showing  progress). 

American  Library  Association  Proceedings 

Note. —  Down  to  and  including  1906  the  proceedings  of  the  American 
Library  Association  and  papers  read  at  the  meetings  were  printed  in  full 
in  the  Library  Journal.  The  references  to  the  Library  Journal  previously 
given  duplicate  in  page  numbers  and  text  all  the  references  that  could  be 
given  to  the  separately  published  proceedings.  Such  references  are,  there- 
fore,  omitted    here. 

Beginning  with  1907  the  papers,  reports  of  committees,  etc.,  of  the  asso- 
ciation are  not  generally  to  be  found  in  the  Library  Journal,  though  an 
account  or  abstract  of  proceedings  may  be  given. 

A.  L.  A.  Papers  and  proceedings,  1907:132-135  (Hasse,  chmn.; 
report)  :  135-139  (Post;  address)  :  139-145  (discus- 
sion) :  146-149  (Reinick;  use  in  the  public  library) 
:  149-153  (Gill ;  obstacles  to  use  by  depository  libra- 
ries) *:  153-156  (Austen;  Congressional  bills  and  Re- 
ports in  libraries)  :  156-157  (C.  H.  Brown;  pub. 
docs,  in  technical  libraries)  :  303  (resolution  for  com- 
mittee on  federal  legislation). 

Page  132-135  same  as  Public  Libraries,   12:251-254,  1907. 

1908:178  (Hasse;  suggestion)  :  382-406  (Wyer,  chmn.;  re- 
port; Post  speaks;  Everhart,  paper;  docs,  course  at 
three  schools  described). 

1909:227  (Godard,  chmn.;  report)  :  277-278  (resolutions 
on  removal  of  Post)  :  313-329  (papers  by  Montgom- 
ery, Tilton,  and  Post;  largely  state  docs.). 

Post's  paper   in   Library  Journal,   34:  538-545. 

1910:759-760,  674  (Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round  table  meet- 
ing; resolutions). 

Resolutions  in  Library  Journal,  35:328. 

1911:90-91  (Godard,  chmn.;  report)  :  194  (resolution) 
272-272   (docs,  round  table  meeting). 

Docs,   round  table  meeting   in  Library  Journal,   36:425-426. 

1912:115-116  (Godard,  chmn.;  report)  :200-20i  (resolu- 
tions favoring  bill)  :  307-311  (docs,  round  table  meet- 
ing; paper  by  Donath). 

Resolutions  in  Library  Journal,  37:  442. 


286  Articles  in  Public  Libraries 

1913:256  (resolutions)  :  352-362  (Godard,  chmn. ;  docs, 
round  table  meeting ;  *  paper  by  Wallace ;  *  Crandall 
on  an  executive  gazette). 

Kound  table  meeting,  without  papers,  in  Library  Journal, 
38:  523-524- 
1914:  109-110  (invitation  to  round  table)  :  255-270  (Godard, 
chmn. ;  docs,  round  table  meeting ;  paper  by  Carter ; 
Hegemann  on  Monthly  Cat.;  Hartwell  on  census) 
:  207-208  (Silliman;  catalogs  of  Docs.  Office). 

Round    table    meeting,    almost    identical,    in    Library    Journal, 
39:  -'97-298. 

1915:248  (resolutions)  :  257-260  (Hartwell;  on  Checklist 
classification;  abstract;  :  288-289  (Godard,  chmn.; 
docs,  round  table  meeting). 

Round  table  meeting  duplicated  in   Library  Journal;  abridged 
in   Public   Libraries. 

1916:  *30i-3i2  (Carter;  printing  bill)  *:  312-319  (Clarke; 
library  needs,  and  betterments  in  system  and  service 
needed)  :  444-447  (Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round  table 
meeting). 

Carter's   paper    in    Library    Journal,    41:664-674;    and    Clarke, 
only  "Betterments  needed,"  in  same,  41:602. 

Public  Libraries 

Public  Libraries,  i,  1896 :  *222-224  (Crandall;  work  of  Docs.  Of- 
fice and  needed  legislation)  :  263-264  ("Library 
Primer";  apx.  F:  Pub.  docs.,  by  Hasse). 

2, 1897:  15  (editorial  on  Doc.  Cat.,  v.  l)  :  183;  310-311 ;  358; 
399  (resolutions,  etc.,  against  demotion  of  Crandall). 

3,1898:46,  84,  85  (editorials  favoring  transfer  of  Docs.  Of- 
fice; urging  bill)  :  86  (summary  of  Crandall's  pro- 
posed bill)  :  295,  302  (A.  L.  A.  action  on  transfer  of 
Docs.  Office,  etc.). 

4, 1899:  145  (examination  for  position  in  Docs.  Office)  :  248 
(Voge;  classification  for  Congressional  set)  :  257 
(resolutions)  *:  405-407  (Mann;  govt,  docs.,  descrip- 
tive, etc.)  :  455  (arrangement  in  series  or  by  subject, 
especially  state  docs.). 

5,  1900  :  83-87  (Reinick  :  arrangement  and  cataloging)  :  297 
(pub.  docs,  committee  report  noticed)  :  433-434  (Ohio 
Library  Assoc;  report,  abstract)  :  449  (Indiana  Li- 
brary Assoc;  conference,  notice). 

6, 1901 :  *28-34  (Hasse;  before  Nat.  Assoc,  of  State  Libra- 
rians) :  625  (course  at  Wise  summer  school  an- 
nounced). 


Articles  in  Public  Libraries  287 

Miss  Hasse's  article  differs  in  phraseology  only  from  same 
in  Library  Journal,  26:8-13. 

7,1902:32  (Mann;  course  at  University  of  Illinois  school) 
:  33-35  (Falkner;  Library  of  Congress  policy  in  col- 
lection of  official  publications)  :  66  (editorial  against 
library's  selling)  *:  266-267  (Nebraska  university  li- 
brary; arrangement  by  subject)  :  289-290  (pub.  docs, 
committee  report  noticed)  *:  355-359  (Hasse;  vexed 
question  of  pub.  docs.)  :  372  (Western  library  meet- 
ing; discussion;  :  387  (course  at  Wisconsin  school 
described)  * :  492  (Parsons;  pub.  docs,  in  a  non-de- 
pository library,  at  Nebraska  meeting,  abstract). 

Miss  Hasse's  paper  differs  very  slightly  from  same  in  Library 
Journal,    27:  815-818. 

8,  1903:405-406  (Dewey;  against  issue  of  department  reports 

in  collected   documents   series,   especially   as   in    N.    Y. 

state  docs.). 
9,1904:182     (description    of    Docs.    Office    printed    catalog 

cards). 
10, 1905 :  19    (Watson    wants    more    tlian   one   card   per   title 

from  Docs.   Office). 

Same  in  Library  Journal,  30:  182. 
11,1906:51-53  (Reinick;  classifying  and  cataloging)  :  106 
(Merrill;  leaflet  publications  of  Agric.  Dept. ;  these 
not  intended  to  be  sent  to  libraries)  :  115  (shall  Cat. 
of  Title  Entries  of  Copyright  Office  be  continued?) 
:5ii-5i3;  514  (Hasse;  and  Jessie  G.  Smith;  pub.  docs, 
in  small  libraries). 
12,1907:48-51  (Hasse;  Building  up  a  doc.  dept.)  :  129 
(pub.  docs,  committee  meeting  announced)  :  230-231 
(editorial;  how  to  get)  :  251-254  (Hasse;  distribu- 
tion historically  and  practically  considered)  :  345-347 
(Evans;   pub.   docs,   in   small   libraries;    nine   ways   to 

get). 

Page  48-51  identical,  except  sample  cards  omitted,  with  that 
in  Library  Journal,  31:661,  1906.  Page  251-254  same  as  A. 
L.  A.  Papers  and  proceedings,   1907,  P-   I32-I35- 

13,1908:25  (Stuckey:  public  documents  in  small  libra- 
ries, at  Kansas  meeting)  :  29-30,  107-108,  179-180 
(Hasse;  cataloging  puzzles,  individual  publications) 
:  153-154  (Docs.  Office,  report,  1906/7,  reviewed) 
270-271  (Wyer,  chmn. ;  docs,  round  table  meeting; 
Post  speaks)  :  408  (Roberts;  this  is  "The  day  of  the 
doc"). 

14,1909:30-31  (H.  H.  Ballard  and  Carlton  before  Conn. 
Library  Assoc.)      :  49-51    (Post;   "Most  essential   re- 


288  Articles  in  Public  Libraries 

form  is  decrease  in  distributing  agencies  ")  :  52-53 
(Hasbroiick  ;  small  libraries  use  few  pub.  docs.;  sug- 
gestions) :  84-86  (Ballard:  verses)  :  126;  126-127 
(Paddock  and  Buynitzky;  "Make  room  for  the  docu- 
ment" in  the  small  library)  :  316  (Nat.  Assoc,  of 
State  Librarians  will  discuss  docs.). 

I'ost's  address,  here  much  abridged,  and  P.allard,  verses,  same 
as  in  Library  Journal,  34:  43-48,  91. 

15,1910:38  (M.  G.  Wyer:  pub.  docs,  in  the  small  lil)rary, 
abstract)     *:i8i-i84     (Tilton;     Printed    serial    entry 

cards). 

16,1911.     Xo  material. 

17,1912:230    (Economy  and   Efficiency  Commission;   list  of 

reports  to  date). 
18, 1913:  *II9-I2i    (Mass.   Library   Club;   J.    L   Wyer;   also 

treatment   at   Haverhill,    Milton,   and   Worcester   pub. 

libraries)      ^  334-335  (Godard.  chmn. ;  docs,  round  table 

meeting). 

Round    table  meeting  without   resolutions   and   abridged    from 

that   in    Library   Journal,   38:  523-524. 

19,1914:355  (Godard,  chmn.;  docs,  round  table  meeting). 

.Abridged   from   that   in   Library   Journal,  39:297-298. 

20,  igi5:*io5  (Billingsley :  pub.  docs,  as  Christmas  gifts) 
:  219  ("Uncle  Sam's  cook  book."  list)  *:  262-265 
(Clarke;  printing  bill)  -.2,17  (Godard,  chmn.;  docs, 
round  table  meeting). 

p.  377  is  shorter  account  than  that  in  Library  Journal,  40:  595, 
and  in  A.  L.  \.   Papers  and  proceedings. 

21,1916:318  ("The  walk-out  of  the  docs.,"  verses,  by 
G.  S.  C). 


INDEX 

Note. This  index  does  not  make  entry  for  each  item  in 

the  classified  list  of  publishing  bodies  beginning  page  156,  nor 
for  those  in  Part  V,  Bibliography,  under  headmgs  as  follows  :  — 
"Government  bodies  described  by  themselves";  "Government 
bodies'  lists  of  their  own  publications  " ;  Government  bodies"  in- 
dexes to  their  own  publications " ;  "  Bibliography  of  laws " 
"Bibliography  of  laws:  Depositories";  "Articles  in  the  Library 
Journal,  the  A.  L.  A.     Proceedings,  and  Public  Libraries." 


A.  L.  A.  Book  List  helps  in  se- 
lecting publications,  192 

A.  L.  A.  Cataloging  Rules,  fol- 
low for  corporate  bodies, 
211;  call  for  personal  name 
references  for  official  heads, 
213;  main  entry  defined,  215. 
See  also  Cataloging  United 
States  government  publica- 
tions 

Abridgments  of  Message  and 
Documents  series,  account 
of,  74 

Agricultural  Year  Book,  see 
U.  S.  Agriculture  Depart- 
ment, Year  Book 

Aldrich,  Nelson  W.,  reference 
from,  to  his  report  must  find 
his  name  in  entry,  224 

Alphabetization  in  catalog, 
main  entry  determines,  215 

American  Catalogue,  247 

American  Library  Association, 
Council  against  reprinting 
executive  publications  in 
Congressional  series,  79; 
Council  advises  subject  class- 
ification of  government  pub- 
lications, 83 ;  majority  favors 
inverted  government  author 
headings,  227 ;  Proceedings, 
analysis  of,  285 

Ames,  John  G.,  superintendent 
of  documents,  2>2 ;  Index,  23' 
40,  249 ;  _  serial  numbers  of 
Congressional  series  devised 
by,  71,  123.  5"^^  also  U.  S. 
Documents  Division  (Inte- 
rior Dept. ) 

Ames,  John  G.,  A.  R.  SpoflFord, 
and  S.  F.  Baird,  Report  re- 


garding .  .  .  public  docu- 
ments, 245 

Analytical  cataloging  of  United 
States  government  publica- 
tions, brings  in  many  per- 
sonal authors,  214;  do  how 
much,  214;  substitutes  for, 
214 ;  printed  catalog  cards 
for,  224 

Annals  of  Congress  gives  early 
proceedings  of  Congress,  126 

Asterisk  with  bill  number  in 
Congressional  Record  index 
denotes  bill  was  acted  on, 
129 

Attorney-general  is  head  of 
Justice  Department,   114 

Author  Headings  for  United 
States  Public  Documents, 
243 ;  helps  m  selecting  publi- 
cations. 54.  191  ;  tells  for  each 
body  under  what  higher 
body,  156 

Author  number,  see  Book  num- 
ber 

Authors,  official,  see  Govern- 
ment bodies  as  authors 

Authors,  personal,  occur  how, 
67 ;  entry  for  not  all,  but 
those  specially  needed,  213; 
analytical  cataloging  brings 
in  many,  214.  See  also  Gov- 
ernment bodies  as  authors 


Baird,   S.   F.,  see  Ames,  John 

G.,  A.  R.  Spofiford,  and  S.  F. 

Baird 
Beaman,    M.    G.,   see   also,   as 

editor,  Index-Analysis  of  the 

Federal  Statutes 


289 


290 


Index 


Bibliographies  in  United  States 
government  publications, 

many  worthy  catalogmg,  243 

Bibliographies  of  United  States 
government  publications,  list 
of,  41  ;  Checklist  and  Month- 
ly Catalog  as,  146;  this  work 
not  a  bibliography,  146,  151 ; 
executive  bodies'  lists  of  their 
own  publications  given  free, 
192.  See  also  Catalogs  and 
indexes  of  United  States 
government  publications ; 

Checklist  of  United  States 
Public  Documents ;  Govern- 
ment bodies'  lists  of  their 
own  publications;  Greely,  A. 
W. ;  Monthly  Catalog 

Bibliography,  241 

Bills  and  resolutions  of  Con- 
gress. 133 ;  data  from  Con- 
gressional Record  on  passage 
of,  7,  130;  supply  of,  should 
be  kept  to  fill  demands,  107  ; 
tracing  passage  of,  in  Con- 
gressional Record,  129;  ab- 
breviations for,  in  Congres- 
sional Record  index  and 
Document  Index,  132;  begin 
how,  133 ;  used  respectively 
for  what,  133;  quote  by  four 
designations,  134;  printed 
how  often,  134;  indexed 
where.  134;  number  vast, 
how  procured,  135 ;  bills  and 
joint  resolutions,  procedure 
to  become  laws,  135:  private 
bill  defined,  139;  Congres- 
sional Report  title  should  in- 
clude bill  title,  141-  See  also 
Resolutions  of  Congress 

Bills  and  resolutions  of  Con- 
gress, History  of,  see  Con- 
gressional Record 

Binders,  loose-leaf,  supplied  by 
Government  Printing  Office, 
hearing,  267 

Bindings,  substitutes  for  sheep 
opposed,  30;  for  depository 
libraries,  103  ;  for  depository 
libraries,  publication  on, 
263 

Biographical  Congressional  Di- 
rectory,   new    editions    recur, 

MS 
Board,    term    how    used,     112. 
Sec  also  Commission 


Book  number  determines  shelf 
arrangement,  215 

Book  selection,  see  Selecting 
United  States  government 
publications 

Bookbinders  in  Government 
Printing  Office,  pay  for,  re- 
ports on,  270 

Books  in  paper  covers,  see  Pa- 
per-covered books 

Bowker,  R.  R.,  247 

Brown,  Zaidee,  on  treatment  of 
pamphlets,  230 

Bulletin  series,  shelve  together 
by  number,  and  catalog  im- 
portant single  issues,  222 

Bureau,  term  used  how.  112 

Bureau  edition,  see  Edition, 
plain  title 

Burns,  W.  S.,  on  stopping  re- 
printing executive  publica- 
tions in  Congressional  Docu- 
ments, quoted,  79 

Calendar  number  on  Congres- 
sional Reports,  non-essential 
in  catalogmg,  143 

Call  number,  sec  Book  number 

Carter,  George  H.,  thanks  to,  5 

Catalog  cards,  printed,  various 
issues,  224 

Catalog  entry  standardized 
should  be  used  in  every  rec- 
ord of  library,  200 

Cataloging,  chief  of.  mav  dis- 
pose of  depository  shipments. 
197 ;  should  supervise  serial 
check  record.  197,  200 

Cataloging  main  entry  deter- 
mines arrangement  in  cata- 
log and  on  shelves,  215 

Cataloging  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications.  204 ; 
government  author  not  to  be 
omitted.  211  ;  make  every  en- 
try likely  to  be  looked  for, 
212;  follow  Library  of  Con- 
gress entries.  216:  beware 
entries  supplied  to  Library 
of  Congress  by  other  depart- 
ments, 216;  Library  of  Con- 
gress and  Document  Catalog 
divergences,  225 ;  govern- 
ment author  heading,  direct 
or  inverted,  226;  govern- 
ment author  below  bureau 
i      grade,  direct  heading  or  sub- 


Index 


2gi 


head.  228.  See  also  A.  L.  A. 
Catalog  Rules ;  Authors, 
Personal ;  Book  number ; 
Shelves,  Library 

Cataloging  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications :  Con- 
gressional Documents  and 
Reports,  how  treat  only  one 
of  publications  in  volume, 
19.3 ;  entries  for,  205 :  series 
note,  207;  author  of  each, 
207 :  grouping  by  catchword 
subhead.  208;  catalog  not  all, 
but  which.  208;  when  call 
number  of  each  is  that  of 
series.  20Q;  plain  title  and  se- 
ries editions,  combined  entry, 
2og;  titles,  especially  of  Re- 
ports, how  abridge,  209 

Cataloging  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications :  maps, 
directions  for,  2,^,2 

Cataloging  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications :  pam- 
phlets, catalog  by  reference 
only  before  binding,  2.SI 

Cataloging  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications  ;  serials, 
catalog  only  collected  vol- 
umes, and  refer  to  check 
record  for  parts.  200.  221  ; 
four  items  and  other  details, 
201.  2ig.  bring  parts  to- 
gether in  one  entry,  218:  "li- 
brary has  "  statement,  three 
forms,  21Q;  bulletin  series, 
shelve  together  and  catalog 
singly,  222 ;  small  annual  re- 
ports may  be  cataloged  be- 
fore they  make  a  volume, 
22;^ :  editions  often  recurring, 
catalog  like  serials,  22;^ ; 
changed  title  or  government 
author,  22;^, ;  show  connection 
of  reference  with  entry,  224; 
printed  catalog  cards  for. 
various  issues.  224:  serials 
indexed  in  periodical  in- 
dexes, note  in  entry,  225 ; 
document  and  whole  number 
of  department,  no  series  en- 
trv  for,  225 ;  make  title  brief, 
218 

Catalogs  and  indexes  of 
United  States  government 
publications,  description.  .-^8 ; 
list,     41.    See     also     Ames, 


John  G. ;  Document  Catalog ; 
Document  Index ;  Indexes  to 
their  own  publications  by 
go\  ernment  bodies  ;  Monthly- 
Catalog  ;  Poore,  B.  P.;  Ta- 
bles and  Index 

Cattle,  Diseases  of,  see  Dis- 
eases of  Cattle 

Check  record  of  serials,  see 
Serial  check  record 

Checklist  classification,  classifi- 
cation marks  are  substitute 
for  numbers  of  Congres- 
sional series,  58,  89,  102 ;  dis- 
advantages of,  for  library- 
use.  238 

Checklist  of  United  States 
Public  Documents,  247 ;  a 
model  bibliography.  21,  40; 
cost  of,  5,3;  use  of,  54;  se- 
rial numbers  in  second  edi- 
tion, 71  ;  list  of  sessions  of 
Congress  and  Presidents  in, 
121  ;  gives  list  of  publica- 
tions. 151  ;  four  groupings  of 
publications  in,  132;  fountain 
head  of  information  about 
publications,  191 

Church,  A.  W.,  and  H.  H. 
Smith,  Tables  .  .  of  the  .  .  . 
Annals  of  Congress,  Con- 
gressional Debates  fete],  249 

Clarke.  E.  E..  more  liberal  dis- 
tribution to  libraries  needed, 
54 ;  for  uniformity  favors  di- 
rect form  of  government  au- 
thor heading,  22J 

Classed  list  of  government 
publishing  bodies.  156 

Classification  marks  assigned 
by  Documents  Office  to  each 
non-Congressional  publica- 
tion, see  Checklist  classifica- 
tion 

Classification  of  government 
publications,  233  :  by  subject 
advised,  83 ;  see  also  Govern- 
ment bodies  as  authors ;  of 
pamphlets.  231;  of  maps.  232. 
See  also  Checklist  classifica- 
tion :  Decimal  classification 

Gassification  of  state  and  for- 
eign government  publica- 
tions, to  be  segregated  if 
those  of  the  United  States 
are.  240 

Classifiers   in    libraries,  classed 


292 


Index 


list  of  publishing  bodies  may 
help.  150 

Commerce  Reports,  see  Consu- 
lar Reports,  .Monthly 

Commissions,  non-permanent, 
publications  of,  56;  non-per- 
manent, described,  iio;  term 
how  used,  112;  publications 
of,  treated  with  executive 
publications,   14^ 

Committee,  sec  Commission 

Committee  Reports,  see  U.  S. 
Congress:  Reports  of  com- 
mittees 

Committees  of  Congress,  term 
of  appointment.  2.^  ;  libraries 
by  pending  bill  to  receive 
publications  of:  107,  139;  de- 
scribed, no;  publications  in- 
accessible, i.^g.  See  also  U. 
S.  Congress :  Reports  of 
committees 

Compositors  in  Go\ernment 
Printing  Office,  Reports  on 
pay  for.  270 

Concurrent  resolutions.  see 
Resolutions  of  Congress 

Congressional  Directory,  plain 
title  edition  justified,  76;  list 
of  sessions  of  Congress  in, 
121,  244 

Congressional  Documents,  see 
U.  S.  Congress  :  Documents  ; 
Congressional  series 

Congressional  Globe  gives 
early  proceedings  of  Con- 
gress, 126 

Congressional  Record,  126; 
data  from,  on  passage  of  bill 
into  law,  7,  130:  reprints 
from.  22  .  distribution  of,  S7  ; 
should  be  supplied  to  libra- 
ries by  Documents  Office,  57, 
107;  supersedes  for  use  Jour- 
nals of  Senate  and  House, 
75,  126 ;  pending  bill  requires 
daily  table  of  contents,  107; 
description  and  use.  126; 
three  predecessors  named, 
126;  debates  in  Congress 
about,  references,  126;  what 
material  not  in  it,  127-.  leave 
to  print  in.  127:  History  of 
Bills  and  Resolutions  de- 
scribed, 128:  action  in  Con- 
gress, how  traced  in.  i.^o; 
Record      and     predecessors, 


genuine  Congressional  publi- 
cations, 145;  editions  un- 
bound and  bound,  194 :  class 
where,  2SS  '■  exchange  for 
Canadian  Hansard,  Report, 
268;  cost  of  edition  tor  pub- 
lic sale,  reference,  260,  267 

Congressional  Record .  index, 
subject  references  faulty.  65. 
128,  130,  requires  trained  in- 
dexer,  107 ;  to  daily  issues 
will  not  verify  for  bound  vol- 
umes, 127;  indexes  and  sup- 
plies what,  lu  ;  abbreviations 
for  bills  and  resolutions.  132 

Congressional  series,  free  dis- 
tribution by  members  of 
Congress  fosters,  58:  class 
marks  of  Documents  Office 
substitute  for  numbering  of. 
58:  number  arrangement  re- 
gardless of  subiect,  source 
or  size.  6g ;  numbered  how. 
70;  bound  how,  70;  gaps  in, 
as  sent  to  libraries.  72 :  ex- 
clusion of  executive  publica- 
tions, opposition  to.  72 :  con- 
sists of  four  series  and  Jour- 
nals. 75.  122;  nine  groups  of 
genuine  Congressional  Docu- 
ments. 75,  144;  Congressional 
and  non-Congressional,  dis- 
tinction inconsistently  ap- 
plied. 75.  83 ;  library  to  keep 
intact,  disadvantages,  83.  236; 
law  of  Mar.  i.  1907,  excludes 
executive  publications  from, 
86:  law  of  Jan.  1.5,  IQ08.  re- 
stores executive  publications 
to,  86;  distribution  as  unit 
an  absurdity,  86;  affords 
cover  for  undesirable  pub- 
lishing, 87 ;  advantages  of 
numbering  and  voluming, 
89;  charges  for  non-Con- 
gressional publications  in. 
how  shared.  89;  publications 
now  in  series,  now  out.  90; 
now  broken  and  unrepresen- 
tative. 90;  early,  no  differen- 
tiation in,  122;  order  of  ar- 
rangement of  series  and 
Journals  in.  123;  shelf  list 
sole  record  of.  204;  catalog 
entries  for  volumes.  205 : 
class  where,  235 :  shelve  in 
remote   part   of   library,   236. 


Index 


293 


See  also  Serial  numbers  of 
the  Congressional  series :  U. 
S.  Congress  :  Documents  ;  U. 
S.  Congress:  Memorial  ad- 
dresses. U.  S.  Congress: 
Publications 

Consular  Reports,  Monthly, 
changes  in  title  and  govern- 
ment author,  22,? ;  Checklist 
classification  shelves  in  three 
places,  2^8 

Contested  Congressional  elec- 
tion cases  are  genuinely  Con- 
gressional Documents.  75 

Contributions  from  the  United 
States  National  Herbarium, 
change  in  government  au- 
thor. 22;^ 

Cornell  University  library, 
thanks  to.  5 

Corporate  authors,  see  Govern- 
ment bodies  as  authors 

Court  decisions,  who  is  author, 
67 

Court  reports,  defined,  113: 
"Decisions"   better  title,  113 

Crandall,  F.  A.,  first  head  of 
Documents  Office,  34:  against 
reprinting  executive  publica- 
tions in  Congressional  series. 
79;  arguments  for  inverting 
government  author,  refer- 
ence, 226 

Criminal  Code.  137 

Dash,  oblique,  indicates  inclu- 
sive years  covered  by  one 
publication,  201 

Decimal  classification,  govern- 
ment publishing  bodies 
classed  by,  154 

Demand  and  supply,  see  Edi- 
tions, size  of 

Department,  term  used  how, 
112 

Department  edition,  see  Edi- 
tion, plain  title 

Department  Methods  Commit- 
tee, see  U.  S.  Department 
Methods  Committee 

Department  publications,  see 
Executive  bodies :  publica- 
tions 

Departments,  executive,  see 
Executive  departments 

Depositorv  libraries,  43:  desig- 
nation bv   Documents  Office, 


44,  107:  designations  should 
be  permanent,  44,  107:  selec- 
tion of  pubhcations  allowed 
to,  by  pending  bill,  45,  46; 
publications  not  sent  to,  47; 
Documents  Office  supplies, 
.t3  :  shipments  to,  disposal  of, 
197;  laws  on.  276  See  also 
Geological  depository  libra- 
ries .  Patent  Gazette  deposi- 
tory libraries 

Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the 
Government  Publications  of 
the  United  States,  1774-1881, 
see  Poo  re.  B.  P. 

Dewey,  Melvil,  against  New 
York  state  documents  in  col- 
lected series,  reference.  78 

Diplomatic  correspondence  in 
State  Department  report.  152 

Diseases  of  Cattle,  edition  and 
distribution.  31 

Diseases  of  the  Horse,  edition 
and  distribution.  31 

Distriliution.  free,  of  govern- 
ment publications,  to  all  li- 
braries a  necessary  reform. 
53.  54.  57.  107:  by  publishing 
office  its  riglit.  55,  106;  by 
members  of  Congress.  57:  by 
members  of  Congress,  valu- 
ation plan,  59.  270;  by  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  abolish- 
ment of.  needed.  106:  to  be 
only  by  publishing  office,  a 
necessarv  reform.  106:  due 
to  all  libraries.  107 .  valua- 
tion plan  should  embrace 
every  publication,   106 

Distribution  of  government 
publications,  52 ;  for  pub- 
lishing bodies  is  done 
through  Documents  Office. 
55 ;  Documents  Office's  stock 
of  current  publications, 
whence  derived,  57 ;  ulti- 
mately to  be  on  sales  basis, 
59;  centralization  of.  not  yet 
reached,  61  :  separately,  im- 
possible if  bound  in  volumes 
of  Congressional  Documents. 
88:  editorial  board  needed, 
99:  to  individuals  bv  sale  and 
from  Documents  Office  only, 
a  necessary  reform,  107.  cen- 
tralization of.  recommended 
by    Economy    and    Efficiency 


294 


Index 


Commission,  267 ;  valuation 
plan,  statements  of  distribu- 
tion. 270.  Sec  also  Dupli- 
cates; International  exchange 
of  goverinnent  publications; 
Reserve,  members' ;  Reserve 
number ;  Valuation  plan 

District  of  Columbia  smking 
fund,  see  U.  S.  Treasurer 

Division,  term  how  used,  112; 
in  cataloging,  as  direct  head- 
ing or  bubbead.  228 

Document  Catalog,  249;  de- 
scribed, 38:  change  in  system 
would  be  disastrous,  7,8;  list 
of  government  authors  in, 
54:  refers  to  Statutes  at 
Large  under  committee  Re- 
ports, 1,^8;  title  in  entries  for 
committee  Reports.  142.  210: 
complete  and  quick  guide  to 
all  publications,  152;  gives 
higher  body  under  which 
each  government  author  be- 
longs. 1-6;  makes  personal 
name  references.  2r.^:  usage 
differs  from  Library  of  Con- 
gress. 22^  :  inverts  govern- 
ment author  headings,  226 : 
makes  body  below  bureau 
grade  direct  heading,  228. 
See  also  Catalogs  and  indexes 
of  United  States  government 
publications 

Document  departments  in  libra- 
ries, this  work  not  adapted 
for.  8;  directions  for  library 
practice  not  addressed  to,  197 

Document  Index,  249;  de 
scribed,  39:  well  made,  66; 
indexes  and  supplies  what, 
1,1,2 :  abbreviations  used  for 
bills  and  resolutions.  1.^2  :  use 
to  hnd  subject  material  in 
Congressional  series.  206. 
See  also  Catalogs  and  in- 
dexes of  L'nited  States  g9v- 
ernment  publications 

Document  Index :  Schedule  of 
Volumes,  type  distinguishes 
Congressional  from  non- 
Congressional  Documents,  72, 
7S,  83 :  library  must  note  in, 
call  number  of  Congressional 
ser-es  volume  shelved  by  sub- 
ject. 207 

Document    librarian    may    dis- 


pose of  depositorv  shipments, 
197 

Document  numbering  given  by 
publislimg  body,  its  purpose 
and  iiow  to  treat.  115;  make 
no  series  entry  for,  116,  225 

Documentary  History  of  the 
Constitution  of  tlie  United 
States,  editions  of,  19;? 

Documents,  use  of  term  by 
archivist,  9 

Documents  library,  see  U.  S. 
Documents  Office 

Documents  of  Senate  and 
House,  see  U.  S.  Congress : 
Documents 

Documents  of  the  United 
States,  see  U.  .S.  govern- 
ment publications 

Donatli.  August,  against  re- 
printing executive  pulilica- 
tions  in  Congressional  series, 
7Q 

Duplicates,  free,  unless  use  re- 
quires, should  be  refused  to 
libraries,  56.  2;^7 

Earle,  M.  T.,  A  disinterested 
publisher,  reference.  243 

Economic  changes  have  muiti 
plied     goxernment     functions 
and  publications.  149 

Economy  and  Efficiency  Com- 
mission, see  U.  S.  Economy 
and  Efficiency  Commission 

Edition,  plain  title,  defined,  76; 
sent  to  depository  libraries, 
how  bound,  76:  report  on 
providing,   for   libraries,  260 

"  Edition  plan."  see  Editions 
according  to  estimate 

Edition  reprinting,  see  Reprint- 
ing plain  title  edition  in 
series  edition 

Editions,  two  meanings  of,  73, 
84 :  knowing  about,  and  se- 
lection of,  193;  frequently 
recurring,  catalog  like  seri- 
als, 22^ 

Editions  according  to  estimate, 
explained.  50.  85 :  law  for. 
102;  committee  Report  on, 
261 ;  regulations  for,  1906, 
261 ;  same,  1909,  264 ;  same, 
19 1 4,  269 

Editions;  size  of.  l^ws  for.  48; 
editions,  distribution  and  ex- 


Index 


=^95 


tra  copies  of  publications, 
reference,  50,  260;  incalcula- 
ble for  valuation  plan,  59 ; 
now  fixed  by  statutes,  61 ;  for 
works  in  series  not  adjust- 
able to  demand,  S8,  104;  edi- 
torial board  on,  needed.  99. 

Elections,  Congressional,  sec 
Contested  Congressional  elec- 
tion cases 

Elliott's  Debates  a  genuinely 
Congressional  publication,  145 

Envelopes,  franked,  see  U.  S. 
Congress :  Members,  frank- 
ing privileges  of 

Everbart,  E.,  Handbook  of 
United  States  public  docu- 
ments, 244 ;  cliaracterizes 
publications  in  a  general 
way,  requires  verilication, 
152 

Exchange,  international,  of 
government  publications,  see 
International  exchange  of 
government  publications 

Executive  bodies,  terminology 
and  grades,  112;  intricate  or- 
ganization and  work  of, 
where  described,  149;  twenty- 
two  of  independent  grade 
named,  153.  See  also  Gov- 
ernment bodies  as  authors 

Executive  bodies :  publications, 
147 ;  law  of  Mar.  i,  1907. 
sends  plain  title  edition  to 
libraries,  71,  8j!,  102;  same, 
committee  Report  on,  refer- 
ence, 262;  opposition  to  ex- 
clusion from  Congressional 
series,  72;  as  Documents  of 
Senate  and  House,  titles, 
numbering,  etc.,  76,  77 :  as 
sent  to  libraries,  how  bound, 
76 ;  as  Documents,  number 
ratio  to  genuine  Congres- 
sional publications,  27,  80, 
144,  150:  as  Documents, 
charges  for,  adjustment  of, 
89,  102 ;  same,  Report  on, 
261 ;  examples  of,  intermit- 
tently or  never  Congres- 
sional Documents,  90;  ad- 
visory committees  on,  or- 
dered, 100;  same,  reference. 
260;  not  to  be  Congressional 
Documents,  law  passed.  102 ; 
to     be    again     Congressional 


Documents,  law  passed,  102 ; 
not  to  be  Congressional  Doc- 
uments, a  necessary  reform, 
106;  terminology,  etc.,  of, 
III  ;  variety  in  size  and  sub- 
jects, 150;  first  hand  ac- 
quaintance with  each  work 
necessary.  151  ;  reprinting  as 
Documents  confuses,  151  ; 
lists  of,  found  where,  151. 
See  also  Editions :  size  of ; 
Printing,  charges  for ;  Re- 
printing plain  title  edition  in 
series  edition 

Executive  bodies :  reports,  re- 
printing subreports  in  iiigher 
reports,  bad  effects  of.  91  ; 
same,  summary.  95 ;  helps 
for  users  of.  92;  reprinting 
subreports,  usage  of  dift'er- 
ent  departments  compared, 
9,^ ;  subreports  should  be 
printed  detached  from,  94; 
swollen  by  subreports,  exam- 
ples of,  94;  order  to  reduce 
size  of.  95,  100.  2(X);  subre- 
ports made  Congressional 
Documents  increase  duplica- 
tion, 95 ;  Document  edition 
sent  to  libraries  to  be  bound 
as  plain  title  edition,  103 ; 
pending  bill  prints  as  Con- 
gressional Documents  only, 
103 :  certain  bodies  report  to 
Congress,  109;  contents  ad- 
missible, 113;  reports  to  be 
made  to  Congress,  list 
where,  152 :  separate  edition 
of  report  of  chief,  how  treat, 
194;  run  July  i  to  June  30, 
217;  small  annual,  catalog 
before  issues  make  volume, 
223.  See  also  Reports ;  Re- 
printing subreports  in  higher 
reports 

Executive  departments,  ten 
named,  113.  See  also  Execu- 
tive bodies :  Government 
bodies  as  authors 

Executive  Documents,  see  U.  S. 
Congress :  Documents 

Experiment  Station  Record, 
editions  bound  and  unbound, 
194 

Falkner,  R.  P..  asks  for 
"  librarv   edition  "    of   execu- 


296 


Index 


tive  publications,  "q:  list  of 
bibliographies,  reference.  230 

Ferrell,  L.  C.  against  reprintmg 
executive  piil)lications  as 
Congressional  Uocuinents.  79 

Finding  List  to  Important 
Serial  Documents,  locates  an- 
nual reports  in  Congressional 
series,  reference.  2<x).  248 

Fiscal  year,  sec  Year.  Fiscal 

Fisher,  Irving.  National  vital- 
ity by,  distributed  as  Con- 
gressional Document.  145 

Folding  room  of  House  of 
Representatives,  see  U.  S. 
Congress.  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives :   Folding  room 

Folding  room  of  Senate,  sec  U. 
S.  Congress,  Senate:  Fold- 
ing room 

Ford.  P.  L.  Some  materials 
for  a  bibliography  ...  of  the 
Continental  Congress.  247 

Foreign  relations  of  the  United 
States,  see  Diplomatic  corre- 
spondence 

Forestry,  publications  on,  kept 
apart  by  Checklist  classifica- 
tion. 23Q 

Franks.  Congressional,  see  U. 
S.  Congress :  Members, 
franking  privileges  of 

Friedenwald,  Herbert,  Journals 
and  papers  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  247 

Geological  depository  libraries, 

47 
Government  bodies  as  authors, 
identification  of,  54:  free  dis- 
tribution of  their  own  publi- 
cations their  right,  55,  106; 
difficulties  in  understanding. 
66;  acquaintance  with,  needed 
to  use  their  publications,  68: 
charges  for  publications  that 
are  Congressional  Docu- 
ments, how  adjusted,  89,  102; 
lists  of,  where  found,  108; 
list  of,  classed  according  to 
Decimal  classification,  154; 
not  to  be  omitted  in  catalog- 
ing, 21 T :  public  becoming  ac- 
quainted with,  211 :  as  catalog 
headings,  direct  or  inverted. 
226 :  below  bureau  grade,  di- 


rect heading  or  subhead.  228; 
publications  describing  them- 
selves, 250:  lists  of  their  own 
publications,  251  ;  indexes  to 
their  own  publications.  255. 
See  also  Authors,  Personal 
Executive  bodies :  Judicial 
branch  of  the  United  States 
government 

Government  bodies  described 
by  themselves.  250 

Government  bodies'  lists  of 
their  own  publications,  251 

Government  of  the  United 
States,  see  U.  S.  Government 

Government  printing,  see  Print- 
ing of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment 

Government  Printing  Office,  see 
U.  S.  Government  Printing 
Office 

Government  publications,  are 
record  of  nation's  life,  17; 
of  foreign  countries  com- 
pared with  those  of  the 
United  States,  64:  of  foreign 
countries,  to  be  segregated,  if 
those  of  United  States  are, 
240 

Government  publications  of  the 
United  States,  see  U.  S.  gov- 
ernment publications 

Government,  strong  centralized, 
feared  earlier.  149 

Greely.  A  W..  Public  docu- 
ments of  the  early  Con- 
gresses, 247 

Hartwell,  I\I.  A.,  thanks  to.  5. 
See  also,  as  editor.  Checklist 
of  United  States  Public 
Documents 

Haskin.  F.  J.,  American  gov- 
ernment. 244 

Hasse,  A.  R.,  The  nation's  rec- 
ords, 243  :  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications.  244;  list 
of  bibliographies.  250 

Havenner.  Geo.  C.  see  U.  S. 
Printing  and  Publications  Di- 
vision (Commerce  Dept. ) 

Hickcox,  J.  H.  United  States 
government  publications,  a 
monthly  catalog.  247 

Hinds,  A.  C.  Precedents,  is 
genuine  Congressional  Docu- 


Index 


297 


ment,  75 ;  better  in  plain  title 
than  Document  edition,  76, 
80;  new  editions  recur,  144 

History  of  bills  and  resolu- 
tions, see  Congressional  Rec- 
ord 

Horse,  Diseases  of  the,  see  Dis- 
eases of  the  Horse 

House  of  Representatives,  sec 
U.  S.  Congress.  House  of 
Representatives 

Index  —  Analysis  of  the  Fed- 
eral Statutes,  use  with  Stat- 
utes at  Large,  137 

Index  and  Review,  248 

Indexes  to  periodicals,  sec 
Periodical  indexes 

Indexes  to  their  own  publica- 
tions by  government  bodies, 
255 

Indexes  to  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications.  sec 
Catalogs  and  indexes  of 
United  States  government 
publications 

Indian  depredation  claims,  re- 
port on.  general  distribution 
uncalled  for.  86 

International  exchange  of  gov- 
ernment publications.  246 

International  relations,  sec 
Diplomatic  correspondence 

Jefferson's  Bible  distributed  as 
Congressional  Document,  145 

Jeflferson's  ^lanual,  sec  U.  S. 
Congress.  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives :  Constitution,  Jef- 
ferson's manual,  and  rules 

Joint  Committee  on  Printing, 
sec  U.  S.  Congress :  Printing 
Joint  Committee  ^ 

Joint  Committee  on  the  Li- 
brary, sec  U.  S.  Congress : 
Library  Joint  Committee 

Joint  resolutions,  see  Resolu- 
tions of  Congress 

Journals  of  Senate  and  House, 
see  v.  S.  Congress :  Journals 
of  Senate  and  House:  U.  S. 
Congress.     Senate:  Journals 

Judges,  federal,  sec  Court  deci- 
sions ;  Court  reports :  Ju- 
dicial branch  of  the  United 
States  government 


Judicial  branch  of  the  United 
States  government,  court  offi- 
cials and  Justice  Department 
not  included  in.  109;  publica- 
tions of,  not  included  in  this 
work,  109.  Sec  also  Legal 
publications  of  the  United 
States  government 

Judicial  Code.  137 

Judicial  decisions,  see  Court 
decisions 

Judicial  reports,  see  Court  re- 
ports 

Keep  Commission,  see  \5.  S. 
Department  Methods  Com- 
mittee 

Kerr,  R.  W.,  History  of  the 
United  States  Government 
Printing  Office.  245 

Kroeger,  A.  B..  Guide  to  .  .  . 
reference  books,  247 

Land  Office  map  of  the  United 
States,  see  U.  S.  Land  Office, 
General 

Lane.  L.  P.,  Aids  in  the  use  of 
United  States  government 
publications,  250 

Laws  of  the  United  States, 
Rolls  and  Library  Bureau 
prints  and  distributes,  121 ; 
slip  law  described,  136 ;  libra- 
ries receive  in  what  form  and 
how  treat,  137 :  slip  laws  in- 
dexed where,  138;  how  quote, 
138.  ^t't'  also  Bills  and  reso- 
lutions of  Congress ;  Criminal 
Code  ;  Judicial  Code  ;  Resolu- 
tions of  Congress ;  Revised 
Statutes :  Session  Laws ; 
Statutes  at  Large 

Laws  of  the  United  States  on 
government  printing,  see 
Printing  laws 

Lee,  G.  W.,  Sponsors  for 
knowledge,  copied  in  classed 
list  of  government  publishing 
bodies,  154 

Legal  publications  of  the 
United  States  government, 
only  those  of  courts  and  gov- 
ernment attorneys  are  gov- 
ernment publications,  109; 
not  included  in  this  work,  109 

Legislative      branch      of      the 


298 


Index 


United  States  government  in- 
cludes three  administrative 
bodies,  109 

Legislative  publications,  sec  U. 
S.  Congress:  Publications 

Librarians,  this  work  addressed 
to,  8 

Libraries,  free  supply  of  publi- 
cations to  all,  needed,  53,  59, 
107;  supply  to,  of  publica- 
tion not  adequate.  S3'  61,  62; 
inconvenienced  l^y  manj-  edi- 
tions, 82.  Sec  also  Deposi- 
tory libraries :  Document  de- 
partments in  libraries ;  State 
libraries 

Library  administration,  see  Li- 
brary practice 

Library  buildings  should  in- 
clude map  rooms,  2;^^^ 

Library  economy,  see  Library 
practice 

Library  Joint  Committee,  see 
U.  S.  Congress :  Library 
Joint  Committee 

Library  Journal,  articles  in, 
references,  279 

Library  of  Congress,  see  U.  S. 
Library  of  Congress 

Library  practice,  section  on, 
189;  section  on,  added  on  re- 
quest, 11;  section  on,  ad- 
dressed to  what  types  of 
library,  91,  197;  to  be  same 
for  governmental  as  for  non- 
governmental publications, 
196;  efificiency  in,  consists  in 
what,  196 

Library  school,  documents 
course  in,  basis  of  this  work, 
7 ;  students  at,  this  work  ad- 
dressed to,  8 

Library  shelves,  see  Shelves, 
library 

Lists  of  their  publications  by 
government  bodies,  251 

Mann,  James  R.,  criticizes  in- 
dexing of  Statutes  at  Large, 
138 

Map  of  the  United  States  of 
the  Land  Office,  see  U.  S. 
Land  Office,  General 

Maps  and  atlases.  United  States 
government,  how  treat  in 
libraries,  232  ;  get  which,  232  ; 


library  buildings  should  in- 
clude map  rtjonis,  2;^^^ ;  cata- 
loging of,  Library  vi  Con- 
gress's directions  for.  2ji,2 

Members  of  Congress,  see  U.  S. 
Congress:  Members 

Members'  reserve,  see  Reserve, 
members' 

Message  and  Documents  series, 
account  of,  ~;^ 

Miscellaneous  Documents,  see 
U.  S.  Congress :  Documents 

]\Ionthly  Catalog,  249:  de- 
scribed, 39 ;  examine  for  re- 
cent publications,  54.  206; 
unbound  issues  can  not  be  re- 
placed. 194:  use  index  to  find 
subject  material.  206.  See 
also  Catalogs  and  indexes  of 
United  States  government 
publications 

IMudge,  L  G,  Guide  to  .  .  . 
reference  books,  247 

National  progress,  shown  in 
national  publications,  17 

Xew  York  State  Library,  Selec- 
tion of  cataloguers  reference 
books,  247 

New  York  state  official  publica- 
tions, bad  publication  meth- 
ods in,  64 

Non-Congressional  publica- 

tions, see  Executive  bodies : 
Publications 

Obituary  addresses  in  Con- 
gress, sec  V.  S.  Congress : 
Memorial  addresses 

Office,  term  used  how,  1 12 

Official  authors,  sec  Govern- 
ment bodies  as  authors 

Official  Records  of  the  Union 
and  the  Confederate  Navies, 
edition  and  distribution.  30 

Official  Records  of  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  edition  and  dis- 
tribution, 30 

Official  Register,  see  U.  S.  Cen- 
sus Bureau 

Orders  to  print  form  of,  22 

Ordway.  Albert.  General  index 
of  the  Journals  of  Congress, 
ist-T6th,  248:  General  per- 
sonal index  of  the  Journals 
of  Congress,  ist-i6th.  248 


Index 


299 


Pamphlet  Laws,  sec  Session 
Laws 

Pamphlets,  paper-covered  books 
not  same  as,  19S,  230:  defini- 
tion of,  230 ;  how  treat  in 
hbrary.  230 

Pan  American  Union,  Monthly 
bulletin,  245 ;  serial  of  which 
type,  217 

Paper-covered  books  not  same 
as  pamphlets,  198,  230.  See 
also  Pamphlets 

Paper  purchases  of  Govern- 
ment Printing  Office,  cost  of, 
25 ;  prices  in  ten  years,  refer- 
ence, 267 

Parliamentary  practice,  see 
Hinds,  A.  C,  Precedents 

Patent  Gazette  depository 
libraries,  account  of,  47 

Periodical  indexes,  consult  for 
government  material,  225 

Persons  as  authors,  see  Au- 
thors, personal 

Philippine  Islands,  governor  of. 
United  States  government 
publications  to  be  sent  to, 
264 

Phillips,  P.  Lee,  see  U.  S.  Li- 
brary of  Congress,  Notes  on 
the  cataloging  of  maps  and 
atlases 

Plain  title  edition,  see  Edition, 
plain  title 

Poore,  B.  P.,  Descriptive  cata- 
logue of  the  government  pub- 
lications of  the  United  States 
.  .  .  1774-  .  .  .  1881,   41,   249 

Post,  W.  L.,  Address  on  work 
of  Office  of  Superintendent 
of  Documents,  245 

Postage,  LTnited  States  govern- 
ment publications  sent  free 
of,  62;  stamps  not  accepted 
by  United  States  government 
publishing  bodies,  62 

Precedents  of  parliamentary 
practice,  see  Hinds,  A.  C. 

Pressmen  in  the  Government 
Printing  Office,  pay  of,  hear- 
ing, 267 

Printing  bill,  pending,  described 
in  this  work,  7 ;  shape  in 
which  it  will  pass  problemati- 
cal, 7,  23 :  gives  Printing 
Joint    Committee    continuous 


control,  25:  depository  libra- 
ries in,  44,  45,  46;  by  it  Docu- 
ments Office  to  supply  Con- 
gressional Record  to  deposi- 
tories, 57,  107 ;  valuation  plan 
in,  59 ;  distribution  of  Senate 
and  House  Journals  by,  72; 
style  of  printing,  how  agreed 
upon  in,  99:  requires  publica- 
tions division  in  each  depart- 
ment, 99 ;  framing  and  prog- 
ress of,  loi ;  requires  depart- 
ment reports  to  be  printed  as 
Congressional  Documents 
only,  103,  106;  reenacts  re- 
form laws  passed  by  Printing 
Investigation  Commission, 
105  ;  requires  superintendent 
of  documents  to  be  appointed 
by  President,  106:  requires 
Congressional  Record  to  have 
daily  table  of  contents,  107; 
words  in,  expressing  total  of 
government  bodies,  114;  re- 
stores Journals  to  libraries, 
125 :  gives  Senate  Executive 
Journals  to  libraries,  125; 
limits  franking  privileges  of 
members  of  Congress,  127; 
restricts  reprinting  by  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  127;  dis- 
tributes rivers  and  harbors 
bills  like  private  bills,  139; 
provides  committee  publica- 
tions for  libraries,  139 ;  bi-U 
number  in  each  Congress, 
259 :  comparison  with  exist- 
ing laws,  reference,  276 

Printing,  charges  for,  for  de- 
partment publications  as  Con- 
gressional Documents,  how 
shared,  89,  102 :  same.  Report 
on,  reference,  261 

Printing  Committee,  House,  see 
U.  S.  Congress.  House  of 
Representatives :  Printing 
Committee 

Printing  Committee.  Senate,  see 
U.  S.  Congress :  Senate 
Printing  Committee 

Printing  for  Congress,  see  U. 
S.  Congress  :  Printing 

Printing  Investigation  Commis- 
sion, see  \J.  S.  Printing  In- 
vestigation Commission 

Prmting  Joint  Committee,  see 


300 


Index 


U.    S.    Congress ;     Printing 
Joint  Committee 

Printing  law  of  1895.  present 
printing  administration  based 
on,  34;  limits  distribution  of 
Senate  and  House  Journals, 
72;  purposes  stated,  97 

Printing  law  of  Mar.  i,  1907. 
abolished  Congressional  Doc- 
ument edition  of  department 
publications,  71 

Printing  laws,  bibliography  of, 
272.  See  also  Printing  bill, 
pending:  Printing  law  of 
1895;  Printing  law  of  Mar.  i, 
1907 

Printing  of  the  United  States 
government,  amount  done  for 
Congress  compared  with 
amount  done  for  depart- 
ments, 27:  expenses  of, 
doubled,  1895-1905,  97.  See 
also  U.  S.  government  publi- 
cations 

Printing  of  the  United  States 
government :  administration, 
this  work  on,  8;  needs  man- 
agement like  private  publish- 
ing business,  9,  12 ;  present 
trend  of,  11;  general  laws 
for,  22 ;  should  be  model  for 
states  to  follow,  90;  investi- 
gations of,  results  unknown 
to  later  Congresses,  91 ; 
recommendations  on,  drawn 
from  official  publications.  91 ; 
representative  board  of  direc- 
tors best  form  of  control.  98; 
publishing  expert  needed  for, 
99 ;  program  of  reforms 
needed,  105 ;  Reed  Smoot, 
speech  on,  reference,  268. 
See  also  Printing  bill,  pend- 
ing 

Printing  offices,  branch,  28; 
hearings  on,  reference,  265 

Printing  orders,  see  Orders  to 
print 

Public  documents  of  the  United 
States,  see  U.  S.  government 
publications 

Public  Libraries,  articles  in, 
references,  286 

Public  printer,  see  U.  S.  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office 

Public  printing,  see  Printing  of 


the  United  States  govern- 
ment 

Publications,  government  bod- 
ies' lists  of  their  own,  251 ; 
government  bodies"  indexes 
to  their  own,  255.  See  also 
U.  S.  government  publica- 
tions 

Publications  divisions,  to  be  es- 
tablished in  each  department, 
99:  functions  of.  99 

Publishing  bodies,  see  Govern- 
ment bodies  as  authors 

Rebellion  Naval  Records,  edi- 
tions of,  ,30 

Rebellion  War  Records,  edi- 
tions of,  30 

Reeder,  C.  W.,  Government 
documents  in  small  libraries, 

245 

Reference  material,  for  tem- 
porary use  transfer  away 
from  class,  22^ 

References,  entry  or  note  must 
explain,  224 

Register  of  Debates  gives  early 
proceedings  of  Congress,  126 

Reports,  list  of,  to  be  made  to 
Congress,  87 ;  executive.  Con- 
gressional, and  court,  differ- 
ence between,  112.  See  also 
Year,  fiscal 

Reports  of  committees  of  Con- 
gress, see  U.  S.  Congress ; 
Reports  of  committees 

Reports  of  executive  bodies,  see 
Executive  bodies :  Reports 

Reprinting,  authority  for,  22 ; 
editorial  board  on,  99 

Reprinting  from  Congressional 
Record,  etc.,  for  distribution, 
22,  127 

Reprinting  plain  title  edition  in 
series  edition,  bad  effects  of, 
7ji :  causes  duplication,  79,  81 ; 
bibliographical  evils  of,  79 ; 
inconveniences  libraries,  82 ; 
economic  arguments  against, 
84;  law  of  Mar.  i.  1907. 
abolished,  86:  law  of  Jan.  15, 
1908,  restored,  85 ;  bad  effects 
of.  summary.  88;  causes  of 
origin,  89;  haphazard.  Con- 
gress cares  not,  90 ;  subre- 
ports     reprinted     as     Docu- 


Index 


301 


ments  increase  duplication, 
95 ;  makes  executive  publica- 
tions Congressional  Docu- 
ments, 144 

Reprinting  subrcports  in  higher 
reports,  bad  effects  of,  91 ; 
same,  summarj'.  95 

Reserve,  members",  abolished, 
44,  105  ;  abolishment  of,  saves 
waste,  85 ;  abolishment  of, 
committee  Report  on,  265 

Reserve  number  explained,  49 

Resolutions  of  Congress,  begin 
how,  133 ;  used  respectively 
for  what,  133;  joint  resolu- 
tions, procedure  to  become 
law.  135.  See  also  Bills  and 
resolutions  of  Congress 

Revised  Statutes.  contains 
what,  136:  set  includes  what, 
137 

Rivers  and  harbors,  bills  on, 
distribution  of,  by  pending 
bill.  139 

Rossiter,  Wm.  S.,  What  shall 
we  do  with  public  documents, 
52,  243 :  Problem  of  the  fed- 
eral printing,  24.  243  ;  Report 
on  Government  Printing 
Office.  263 

Rules  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, see  U.  S.  Con- 
gress. House  of  Representa- 
tives :  Constitution.  Jeffer- 
son's manual,  and  rules 

Rules  of  the  Senate,  see  U.  S. 
Congress.  Senate :  Senate 
manual 

Schedule  of  Volumes,  see  Doc- 
ument Index :  Schedule  of 
Volumes 

Scott.  G.  W.,  see.  as  editor,  In- 
dex-Analysis of  the  Federal 
Statutes 

Section,  term  used  how,  112; 
in  cataloging,  as  direct  head 
or  subhead,  228 

Selecting  United  States  gov- 
ernment publications,  helps 
in,  191  ;  test,  discriminate,  re- 
ject, 192;  maps,  get  which, 
232 

Senate,  see  U.  S.  Congress. 
Senate 

Separates,    printing    of,    justi- 


fied. 79;  value  and  treatment 
of,  194 

Serial  check  record,  199;  chief 
of  cataloging  to  supervise, 
197,  200:  serves  three  pur- 
poses, 199 ;  items  to  be  put  on, 
200;  catalog  refers  to,  for 
part  of  volumes,  200,  219;  for 
issues  each  a  distinct  work 
should  include  author  and 
title,  201  ;  card  form  for,  202 ; 
keep  in  separate  files,  203 ; 
bound  volumes  of  Congres- 
sional series,  do  not  enter  on, 
204 

Serial  government  publications, 
216:  editions  unbound  and 
bound,  193 :  check  record  of, 
199 ;  each  a  distinct  work,  in- 
clude author  and  title  on 
check  record,  201  ;  give  cata- 
loging four  items  in  quoting, 
201  :  in  Congressional  series, 
Finding  list  to,  209 ;  exclude 
what,  and  three  types,  217 

Serial  numbers  of  the  Congres- 
sional series,  account  of,  71, 
123:  gaps  in,  on  library 
shelves.  90,  124.  See  also 
Congressional  series 

Serially  numbered  set,  see  Con- 
gressional series 

Serials,  indexes  to,  see  Periodi- 
cal indexes 

Series  reprinting,  see  Reprint- 
ing plain  title  edition  in  series 
edition 

Service,  term  used  how,  112 

Session  Laws,  printed  when, 
contents,  136;  discard  when 
Statutes  at  Large  come,  137, 
194 

Sheep-bound  set,  see  Congres- 
sional series 

Shelf  list  for  the  Congressional 
series,  204 

Shelves,  library,  arrangement 
on,  book  number  determines, 
215 ;  for  temporary  use, 
transfer  reference  material 
on.  22T, ;  little  used  groups, 
transfer  to  remote.  236 

Silliman.  H.  C,  thanks  to,  5 

Smithsonian  Institution,  see  In- 
ternational exchange  of  gov- 
ernment publications 


302 


Index 


Smoot,  Reed,  against  reprint- 
ing cxccntive  iniblioations  as 
Congressional  Documents. 
78;  estimates  expense  of 
Printing  Investigation  Com- 
mission, loi  ;  reprintmg,  bad 
effects  of,  104;  waste  of  pul)- 
lic  documents,  105 ,  speech, 
reference,  2O8 

Specialties  of  government  pub- 
lishing bodies,  classed  list  of, 

154 

Spofford,  A.  R..  Government  as 
a  great  publisher,  243.  See 
also  Ames,  John  G..  A.  R. 
Spofford,  and  S.  F,  Baird 

Sponsors  for  knowledge, 
classed  list  of  government 
publishing  bodies  as,  154 

Star,  see  Asterisk 

State  libraries,  this  work  not 
addressed  to.  8,  197 

State  publications,  in  a  library, 
shall  they  be  segregated  if 
federal   publications   are,   240 

States  to  be  independent  and 
self-sufficient  was  early  doc- 
trine, 149 

Statutes  at  Large,  indexed 
badly,  65,  138;  supersede  Ses- 
sion Laws,  137,  194;  when 
printed  and  contents,  137  ;  last 
issue  is,  137;  index  to,  137; 
referred  to  in  Document 
Catalog,  138 

Superintendent  of  documents, 
see  U.  S.  Superintendent  of 
documents 

Supply  and  demand,  see  Edi- 
tions, size  of 

Surplus  copies  of  department 
editions,  260 

Survey,  term  used  how,  112 

Symbols  used  in  United  States 
government  publications,   115 

Tables  and  Index,  40,  249 
Tests  of  .Metals,  report  on,  gen- 
eral    distribution     not     war- 
ranted, 86 
Tilton,  A.  C,  serial  entry  cards. 

reference.  202 
Tisdel,  A.  P..  thanks  to.  5 
Titles   of   government  publica- 
tions, faulty,  tS 
Townsend,  Malcolm,  Handbook 


of  United  States  political  his- 
tory. 244 

Transference  of  little  used 
groups  of  books  to  remote 
shelves  justified,  236;  for 
temporary  use,  away  from 
class,  desirable.  22^ 

Treaties  printed  where,  136; 
not  in  State  Department  re- 
port, 132 

Typesetting  machines  for  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office,  pur- 
chase of,  report  on,  260 

Unbound  books,  see  Paper- 
covered  books  ;  Pamphlets 

U.  S.  Agriculture  Department, 
most  technical  department, 
150 ;  issues  printed  catalog 
cards  for  its  publications, 
225;  form  of  government 
author  heading  used  by.  229 

U.  S.  Agriculture  Department: 
report,  large  edition  of,  de- 
manded, 104;  catalog  entry 
for,  on  printed  cards  criti- 
cized, 218 

U.  S.  Agriculture  Department: 
Year  book,  edition  and  dis- 
tribution, 31 

U^.  S.  Botanic  Garden,  under 
Congress,  109 

U.  S.  Census  Bureau,  Official 
register,  244;  table  of  con- 
tents gives  list  of  commis- 
sions, III 

U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur- 
vey, report  is  on  technical 
business,  103:  publication  de- 
scribing its  work,  250 

U.  S.  Commerce  and  Labor  De- 
partment, draft  of  bill  to  per- 
mit department  to  sell  its 
publications,  reference,  268 

U.  S.  Commerce  Department, 
Government  Printing  Office 
recommended  to  be  under, 
98 ;  publication  on  its  work, 
250 

U.  S.  Commission  to  Revise  the 
Criminal  Laws,  137 

U.  S.  Congress,  makes  federal 
laws,  119:  biennial,  119; 
sessions  of,  120;  table  of 
sessions  where,  121 ;  debates 
and  action  of,  how  trace  in 


Index 


303 


Congressional  Record,  130; 
in  early  days  the  only  con- 
spicuous national  body,  149; 
excluded  from  classed  list  of 
publishing  bodies,  155.  See 
iilso  Bills  and  resolutions  of 
Congress ;  Committees  of 
Congress  :  Legislative  branch 
of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment ;  Resolutions  of  Con- 
gress. 

Documents,  144;  quote  by 
eight  designations,  7,  124, 
207 ;  denoted  by  capital  D, 
10;  genuine  Congressional, 
nine  groups,  75,  144;  consoli- 
dation of  prior  Miscellaneous 
and  Executive  Documents, 
122;  majority  of,  are  non- 
Congressional  in  origin,  144 ; 
serial  or  recurring  in  new 
editions,  144 ;  miscellaneous 
single,  are  of  value.  145  ;  used 
for  propaganda,  145 ;  bound 
and  unbound  editions  of, 
194 ;  where  record  call  num- 
ber of  subject  classification, 
207:  subject  classification  of, 
advised,  236.  See  also  Con- 
gressional series 

Journals  of  Senate  and 
House,  125 ;  serial  numbers 
are  given  to,  71  ;  distribution 
to  libraries  now  limited,  72, 
125  ;  superseded  in  usefulness 
by  Congressional  Record,  75  ; 
ignored  in  discussion  here  of 
Congressional  series,  75 ; 
pending  bill  restores  to  libra- 
ries. 125.  See  also  U.  S. 
Congress.  Senate :  Journals 
of  executive  sessions 

Library  Joint  Committee 
controls  Library  of  Congress 
and  Botanic  Garden,  109 

Members,  reprints  for.  22, 
127 ;  under  franks  distributes 
reprints.  22,  127:  free  distri- 
bution by,  57 :  same,  on  valu- 
ation plan,  59;  pending  bill 
limits  franking  privileges, 
127 ;  presenting  committee, 
name  unimportant  in  cata- 
loging. 143,  See  also  Re- 
serve, members' 
Memorial     addresses     are 


genuine  Congressional  Docu- 
ments. 7^ 

Officials,  reports  of,  are 
genuine  Congressional  Docu- 
ments, 7S ;  claim  Congres- 
sional series  numbers  are  in- 
dispensable, 58,  72,  102 

Parliamentary  practice,  see 
Hinds,  A.  C,  Precedents 

Printing,  amount  for  Con- 
gress compared  with  amount 
for  departments,  27,  80,  144, 
150;  rush  and  amount  ab- 
normal. 28,  98 

Printing  Joint  Committee, 
functions  of,  24;  supervises 
Government  Printing  Office, 
24,  log  ;  pending  bill  continues 
control  between  sessions  of 
Government  Printing  Office 
by,  25 ;  a  changing  politi- 
cal body.  98;  passes  on  form 
and  style  of  printing,  99; 
clerk  of.  should  not  adminis- 
ter Government  Printing  Of- 
fice, 99,  109;  edition  regula- 
tions, 261,  264,  269;  approves 
purchases  of  machinery  for 
Government  Printing  Office, 
263 :  prices  of  paper,  267 ; 
Congressional  printing  hand- 
book, 268;  valuation  plan, 
statements  on  distribution, 
270 

Publications,  117;  number 
of,  compared  with  number  of 
department  publications,  27, 
80,  144,  150;  early  important, 
145  ;  early  government  publi- 
cations all  originated  in  Con- 
gress. 149.  •S'rr  also  Con- 
gressional Directory:  Con- 
gressional Record ;  Congres- 
sional series ;  U.  S.  Con- 
gress :  Memorial  addresses 

Reports  of  committees, 
140 ;  on  private  bills  and  sim- 
ple and  concurrent  resolu- 
tions in  lettered  volumes  and 
not  sent  to  libraries.  72,  143; 
described,  113,  quote  by  eight 
designations,  124.  142,  207; 
titles  of.  should  include  what, 
141 :  titles  of,  used  by  Docu- 
ment Catalog  and  Library  of 
Congress   catalog.    142,   209; 


304 


Index 


how  numbered,  142:  calendar 
number  not  essential  in  cata- 
loging, 143 :  member  of  Con- 
gress presenting,  name  not 
important  in  cataloging,  143 ; 
edition  bound  and  unbound, 
194.  See  also  Congressional 
series 
U.  S.  Congress.  House  of 
Representatives,  election  and 
term  of  representatives,  iiQ 

Appropriations  Committee, 
hearing  on  printing  appro- 
priations, 261 

Constitution,  Jefferson's 
manual,  and  rules,  244:  a 
genuine  Congressional  pub- 
lication, 75 :  quoted,  134 

Document  room,  recom- 
mendations from,  to  improve 
indexing,  etc..  263 

Folding  room,  expense  of, 
and  now  superseded.  60 

Library,  now  superseded  by 
Library  of  Congress.  60 

Printing  Committee,  Re- 
ports by,  260,  261,  262,  264, 
266,  268,  269,  270;  hearings 
by,  265,  268,  269 

Reports  of  committees,  see 
U.  S.  Congress:  Reports  of 
committees 

Rules,  see  U.  S.  Congress. 
House  of  Representatives : 
Constitution,  Jefferson's 

manual,  and  rules 

Useless  Papers  and  Docu- 
ments, Select  Committee  on, 
Report  disposing  of  accumu- 
lations in  folding  room,  265 
U.  S.  Congress,  Senate,  election 
and  term  of  senators,  119; 
special  session,  House  not 
sitting,  121 ; 

Folding  room,  expense  of, 
and  its  usefulness  now  su- 
perseded, 60 

Journals  of  executive  ses- 
sions,, status  and  printing, 
125 ;  libraries  by  pending  bill 
are  to  receive,  125 

Library,  now  superseded 
by  Library  of  Congress,  60; 
catalog  of,  includes  Finding 
List  to  Important  Serial 
Documents,     209,     248.    See 


also   Finding  List  to  Impor- 
tant Serial  Documents 

Printing  Committee,  Re- 
ports by,  240,  2()2,  265,  266, 
267,  269,  270:  hearings,  etc., 
by,  262.  265,  266,  2t)7,  2(x) 

Reports  of  committees,  see 
U.  S.  Congress :  Reports  of 
committees 

Senate  manual,  244;  a  gen- 
uine Congressional  publica- 
tion, 73 

U.  S.  Continental  Congress. 
Journals,  a  genuine  Con- 
gressional publication,  145. 
See  also  Ford,  P.  L. ;  Frie- 
denwald,  Herbert 

U.  S.  Court  of  Claims,  Find- 
ings, bibliographically  bad  as 
Congressional  Documents,  80 

U.  S.  Department  Metliods 
Committee,  recommends  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office  to  be 
under  department,  and  edi- 
torial board  on  publications, 
25,  97:  personnel  of,  97;  rec- 
ommends to  reduce  size  of 
department  reports,  100;  re- 
ports by,  260 

L^.  S.  Documents  Division  (In- 
terior Dept.).  Report  regard- 
ing .  .  .  public  documents, 
246  ;  Special  report  relative  to 
public  documents,  246.  See 
also  U.  S.  superintendent  of 
documents  (Interior  Dept.) 

U.  S.  Documents  Office,  34; 
medium  for  wants  of  public, 
35 ;  library  of,  35 ;  see  also 
Checklist  classification ;  pub- 
lications of,  40;  depository 
libraries  should  be  designated 
by,  44,  107 ;  as  storage  and 
supply  house  of  old  publica- 
tions, 52;  as  clearing  house, 
52 ;  as  sales  agency,  53 ;  sup- 
plies depository  libraries.  53 ; 
does  distributing  for  publish- 
ing bodies,  55  ;  current  publi- 
cations for  distribution, 
whence  derived.  57  :  Congres- 
sional Record  to  be  sent  to 
libraries  by.  37,  107 ;  distribu- 
tion not  yet  centralized  in, 
61  :  work  increased  by  many 
editions,  81 ;  should  be  repre- 


Index 


305 


sented  on  editorial  board, 
100;  transfer  of  cataloging  to 
Library  of  Congress  pro- 
posed, 106;  distriljution,  free 
to  libraries,  by  sale  to  indi- 
viduals, should  be  centralized 
in,  107;  printed  catalog  cards, 
when  issued  by.  224;  address 
on  work  of,  245 :  publications 
of,  on  depository  libraries, 
245.  See  also  Author  Head- 
ings for  United  States  Public 
Documents;  Checklist  of 
United  States  Public  Docu- 
ments; Document  Catalog; 
Document  Index ;  Monthly 
Catalog;  Tables  and  Index; 
U.  S.  Superintendent  of  doc- 
uments (Government  Print- 
ing Office) 
Bulletins,  245,  248 
Classification,  see  Checklist 
classification 

Price  lists,  249 ;  as  guide  to 
subject  material,  152;  sub- 
jects on  wliich  issued,  191  ; 
on  government  periodicals, 
reference,  216;  on  maps,  ref- 
erence, 2.32 

Reports,  246 ;  quoted  against 
reprinting  executive  publica- 
tions as  Congressional  Docu- 
ments, 78 

U.  S.  Economy  and  Efficiency 
Commission,  reports,  267, 
268;  quoted  against  reprint- 
ing executive  publications  as 
Congressional  Documents,  78 

U.  S.  Education  Bureau,  issues 
printed  catalog  cards  for  its 
publications,  224;  Teaching 
material  in  government  pub- 
lications, reference,  250 

Bulletins,  how  catalog, 
214 ;  main  entry  to  be  series 
entry,  218 

Report,  large  edition  de- 
manded, 104 

U.  S.  Engineer  Department, 
report,  reprinted  as  Congres- 
sional Document,  95 

U.  S.  Ethnology  Bureau,  publi- 
cations, general  distribution 
not  warranted,  86 

U.  S.  foreign  relations,  see 
Diplomatic    correspondence 


U.  S.  General  Supply  Commit- 
tee is  permanent  body,  1 1 1 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  bulle- 
tins of,  editions  bound  and 
unbound,  193 ;  issues  printed 
cards  for  its  publications,  224 

U.  S.  government,  legislative, 
executive,  and  judicial,  as 
basis  for  group  publishing, 
81,  106;  organization  ex- 
plained, 108;  lists  of  govern- 
ment bodies,  where  found, 
108;  functions  enlarged  in- 
crease publications.  149.  See 
also  Executive  bodies;  Gov- 
ernment bodies  as  authors; 
Judicial  branch  of  the  United 
States  government ;  Legisla- 
tive branch  of  the  United 
States  government 

U.  S.  Government  Printing  Of- 
fice, 24;  its  imprint  identifies 
a  L^nited  States  government 
publication,  20;  law  requires 
all  government  printing  to  be 
done  at,  21,  2S;  purchases  for, 
25  ;  administrative  control  of, 
25,  98;  recommended  putting 
under  a  department,  25,  98; 
investigations  of  manage- 
ment, 2j;  reforms  needed, 
28 ;  under  civil  service  law, 
29;  labor-saving  machinery 
and  bindings,  opposition  to, 
30;  report  of,  edition  should 
suit  demand,  104 ;  represen- 
tative board  of  directors  for, 
105;  under  Congress,  109; 
Printing  Joint  Committee 
controls,  109;  reports  of,  24C; 
report  on  sales  edition  of 
Congressional  Record,  refer- 
ence, 260.  See  also  Book- 
binders in  Government  Print- 
ing Office ;  Compositors  in 
Government  Printing  Office ; 
Kerr,  R.  \V, ;  Paper  purchases 
of  Government  Printing  Of- 
fice ;  Pressmen  in  Govern- 
ernment  Printing  Office ; 
Printing  offices,  branch ; 
Typesetting  machines  for 
Government  Printing  Office 

U.  S.  Government  publications, 
students  using,  this  work 
aims  to  help,  8;  treat  same 


3o6 


Index 


as  other  publications.  8,  lo; 
preferred  term,  9;  works  on, 
soon  go  out  of  date,  11;  to 
handle,  only  way  to  know 
them,  11;  printing  of.  pur- 
pose, 18;  subjects  treated  in, 
19;  definition.  20:  authors 
of,  20;  how  identified,  20; 
before  1861  printed  on  con- 
tract, 21  ;  law  requires  all  to 
be  printed  at  Government 
Printintr  Office.  21.  28:  same 
publication  ordered  printed 
by  both  Senate  and  House, 
21  ;  authority  and  laws  for, 
22:  reprints  of,  22\  may  not 
be  copyrighted.  2t,  ;  abuses 
and  bad  methods,  30:  large 
editions  of,  30.  145  ;  withheld 
from  depository  shipments. 
47;  condemned  and  disposed 
of  as  waste  paper,  47,  52.  61 ; 
steps  to  obtain,  54 :  libraries 
should  get  free,  S2>^  54-  57. 
107;  to  be  ultimately  on  sales 
basis  to  individuals,  59 ;  sent 
free  of  postage.  62;  7  diffi- 
culties presented  by.  63  ;  tech- 
nical in  subject  and  poorly 
edited.  64 ;  indexes  poor,  65 : 
should  be  distinct  according 
to  three  coordinate  branches 
of  government,  81.  106:  sub- 
ject classification  of,  advised, 
Si ;  series  numbers  of  what 
use,  89;  administration  of. 
should  be  model  for  states, 
90;  editorial  board  on.  rec- 
ommended, 98,  106 ;  forms 
and  style  of,  how  agreed 
upon,  99;  summary  of  re- 
forms needed,  105 ;  each 
should  appear  in  one  edition 
only.  106  ;  early,  all  originated 
in  Congress,  149;  multiplied 
as  government  functions  en- 
larged, 149;  helps  in  f elec- 
tion, 191 :  depository  ship- 
ments of,  heterogeneous.  197 ; 
how  keep  up  with  currently, 
206:  Tables  of.  printed  at  in- 
tervals, showing  extra  and 
usual  number  and  distribu- 
tions, reference,  248.  See 
also  Bibliographies  of  United 
States    government    publica- 


tions :  Catalogs  and  indexes 
of  United  States  government 
publications  ;  Executive  bod- 
ies :  publications  ;  Executive 
bodies:  reports:  Greely,  A. 
W. :  International  exchange 
of  government  publications: 
Legal  publications  of  the 
United  States  government ; 
Maps  and  atlases,  United 
States  government ;  Pam- 
phlets: Printing.  charges 
for:  Printing  of  the  United 
States  government:  admin- 
istration ;  Reports ;  Selecting 
United  States  government 
publications :  Serial  govern- 
ment publications:  Titles  of 
government  publications  ;  U. 
S.  Congress:   publications 

U.  S.  Government  Publications, 
a  Monthly  Catalog,  see  Hick- 
cox,  J.  H. 

U.  _  S.  House  of  Representa- 
tives, see  U.  S.  Congress. 
House  of  Representatives 

U.  S.  Hygienic  Laboratory, 
bulletins,  general  distribution 
not  warranted,  86 

U.  S.  Immigration  Commission, 
report,  better  in  plain  title 
than  Document   edition,  80 

U.  S.  Indian  Affairs  Office,  re- 
port. 1894.  confusing  title  of 
Document  edition,  yy ;  dis- 
tribution of  report  should  be 
to  those  interested  only,  86 

U.  S.  Interior  Department,  re- 
port, printing  of  subreports 
in,  93 

U.  S.  Justice  Department,  in 
executive  branch  of  govern- 
ment, 109 :  attorney  general 
is  head,  114 

U.  S.  Keep  Commission,  see 
U.  S.  Department  Methods 
Committee 

U.  S.  Labor  Bureau,  separated 
by  Checklist  classification.  238 

U.  S.  Land  Office.  General,  wall 
map  of  United  States,  dis- 
tribution of.  31 

U.  S.  Library  of  Congress,  su- 
persedes Senate  and  House 
libraries,  60:  supplies  refer- 
ence use  of  government  pub- 


Index 


307 


lications,  87 ;  librarian  of,  to 
be  on  editorial  board  on  gov- 
ernment publications,  98; 
transfer  to,  of  Documents 
Office  cataloging,  106;  under 
Congress,  109;  catalog  title 
for  Congressional  Reports, 
142,  210;  follow  in  catalog- 
ing, 216;  beware  catalog  en- 
tries supplied  to,  by  other 
departments,  216 :  Handbook 
of  Card  Distribution  of, 
gives  departments  supplying 
catalog  entries  to,  216;  use 
printed  catalog  cards  of,  224; 
for  printed  catalog  cards  for 
anaiyticals,  see  List  of  Series 
of  Publications  for  Which 
Cards  Are  in  Stock  by,  224; 
catalog  entries  of,  how  differ 
from  Document  Catalog,  225  ; 
uses  direct  form  of  govern- 
ment author  heading,  22"] ; 
makes  subhead  of  govern- 
ment author  below  bureau 
grade,  22S ;  Notes  on  the 
Cataloguing  ...  of  Maps  and 
Atlases  by,  232.  See  also 
Index-Analysis  of  the  Fed- 
eral Statutes ;  International 
exchange  of  government  pub- 
lications 

U.  S.  National  Academy  of 
Sciences,  memoirs,  distribu- 
tion should  be  to  those  inter- 
ested onlJ^  86 

U.  S.  National  Herbarium,  see 
Contributions  from  the 
United  States  National  Her- 
barium 

U.  S.  National  Home  for  Dis- 
abled Volunteer  Soldiers,  re- 
port of,  small  edition  de- 
manded, 104 ;  independent  in 
rank   but   of    slight   interest, 

U.  S.  Naval  Observatory,  re- 
port is  on  technical  business, 
103 

U.  S.  Office  of  Superintendent 
of  Documents,  see  U.  S.  Doc- 
uments Office 

U.  S.  Ordnance  Bureau 
(Navy),  report  should  go  to 
those  interested  only.  86 

U.    S.    Ordnance    Department, 


report  is  on  technical  busi- 
ness, 103.  See  also  Tests  of 
Metals 

U.  S.  Philippine  Committee  on 
Geographical  Names  is  per- 
manent body,  III 

U.  S.  Postal  Savings  Sys- 
tem only  government  body 
termed  system,  112 

U.  S.  President,  Messages  and 
papers,  editions  of,  31 ;  mes- 
sages of,  to  Congress  are 
genuine  Congressional  Doc- 
uments, 75 :  better  in  plain 
title  than  Document  edition. 
76,  80;  messages  of,  where 
printed,  127 ;  proclamations 
of,  where  printed,  136;  mes- 
sages of,  class  where,  235 

( Roosevelt  j,  order  to  re- 
duce size  of  department  re- 
ports. 95,  100;  against  extrav- 
agance in  the  public  printing, 
97,  260;  order  for  advisory 
committees  on  printing  in  de- 
partments, TOO 

U.  S.  printing  administration, 
see  Printing  of  the  United 
States  government:  adminis- 
tration 

U.  S.  Printing  and  Publications 
Division  (Commerce  Dept.), 
report  on  printing  costs  for 
departments,  263 

U.  S  Printing  Investigation 
Commission,  appointment  and 
term,  loi  ;  laws  secured  by, 
102:  laws  creating  and  con- 
tinuing, references,  25.9;  re- 
ports by,  260,  261,  262,  263, 
264,  266;  hearings,  etc.,  by, 
260,  263,  265 

U.  S.  public  documents,  see  U. 
S.  government  publications 

U.  S.  Reclamation  Service,  re- 
port, edition  should  suit  de- 
mand from  those  interested 
only,  86,  104 

U.  S.  Rolls  and  Library  Bureau 
prints  and  distributes  laws, 
121.  See  also  Documentary 
History  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States 

U.  S.  Senate,  see  U.  S.  Con- 
gress :  Senate 

U.  S.  Standards  Bureau,  report 


3o8 


Index 


IS  on  technical  business,  103 

U.  S.  State  Department,  report 
contains  only  diplomatic  cor- 
respondence, 152;  communi- 
cation relative  to  .  .  .  inter- 
national bureau  of  exchanj^es 
(of  government  publications], 
246 

U.  S.  Superintendent  of  docu- 
ments (Government  Printmg 
Oflice),  qualifications  needed 
by,  36,  106;  apponitment  of, 
how  made,  36.  See  also 
Crandall,  F.  A. ;  Donath,  Au- 
gust ;  Ferreli,  L.  C. :  Post,  W. 
L. ;  U.  S.  Documents  Office : 
Wallace,  F.  C. 

U.  S.  Superintendent  of  docu- 
ments (Interior  Dept.),  office 
abolished  when  Documents 
Office  was  established,  34. 
See  also  Ames,  John  G. 

U.  S.  Treasurer,  report  on 
sinking  fund  of  District  of 
Columbia,  general  distribu- 
tion not  warranted,  86;  small 
edition  demanded,  104 

U.  S.  Treasury  Department, 
reports,  department,  not  per- 
son, is  author  of,  67 ;  reprint- 
ing subreports  in  reports,  93 ; 
report  is  made  to  Congress, 
109 

U.  S.  War  Department,  reports 
swollen  by  reprinting  subre- 
ports, 95 ;  terms  its  larger 
branches    departments,    112 

Up  number  explained.  49 

Usual  number  explained,  48; 
obligatory  for  every  publica- 
tion of  Congressional  series 
under  100  pages,  84 

Valuation  plan  of  giving  gov- 
ernment publications  to  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  54;  hear- 


ings on,  265 ;  statements  on, 
reference,  270 
Van   Tyne,   C.   H.,  and   W.   G. 
Leland,  Guide  to  the  archives 
of  the  government,  243 

Wallace,  F.  C,  against  re- 
printing executive  publica- 
tions as  Congressional  Docu- 
ments, 79 

Waste  paper,  government  pub- 
lications as,  statistics,  47,  52, 
61.  See  also  U.  S.  Congress, 
House  of  Representatives: 
Useless  Papers  and  Docu- 
ments. Select  Committee  on 

Whelpley,  J.  D.,  Nation's  print 
shop,  24,  243 

"  Whole  number "  given  by 
publishing  body,  its  purpose 
and  how  to  treat,  115:  make 
no  series  entry  for,  in  cata- 
log.  116,  22t 

Wiley.  H.  W'.,  chief  of  U.  S. 
Chemistry  Bureau,  as  author, 
67 

Willoughby.  W.  F.,  Statistical 
publications  of  the  United 
States  government.  250 

Wroth.  L.  C.,  Description  of 
federal  public  documents,  245 

Wyer,  J.  I.,  United  States  gov- 
ernment documents  in  small 
libraries,  244;  use  same  in 
selecting  publications,  191, 
against  dictum  of,  to  omit 
government  author  in  cata- 
loging, 211;  United  States 
government  documents,  244 

Year  Book  of  the  Agriculture 
Department,  see  U.  S.  Agri- 
culture Department 

Year,  fiscal,  of  the  United 
States  government,  runs  July 
I  to  June  30,  217 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


iij 


J  UN 


ML  15  mi 


I/' 


91980 


NOV    2 


1984 


Form  L9-75ni-7,'61(C1437s4)444 


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Z7C$  Guide  to  the 

use  of  U#S» 
government  public a tiona 


3  1158  00596  6311 


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